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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. field — for sport
  4. bark — to shout
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. bat — the animal
  9. hand — help
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. hand — in cards
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. land — ground
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. stand — to bear
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. land — a country
  20. field — a subject
  21. field — farmland
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. land — to come down
  24. bark — a dog's sound

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com