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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  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. bark — to shout
  2. firm — a company
  3. wound — an injury
  4. firm — steady
  5. land — a country
  6. chair — a leader
  7. rest — what's left
  8. land — ground
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. pound — a weight
  11. field — farmland
  12. firm — decided
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. rest — what's left
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. field — a subject
  19. land — to come down
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. rest — a break
  22. field — for sport
  23. wound — an injury
  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