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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 116 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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. band — a ring
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. bound — certain
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. field — a subject
  8. shower — rain
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. field — farmland
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. band — a music group
  14. shower — to wash
  15. field — for sport
  16. bound — obliged
  17. staff — employees
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. staff — a stick
  22. bark — to shout
  23. bound — tied together
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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