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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. field — a subject
  3. last — finally
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. bear — the animal
  9. rush — hurry
  10. last — to go on
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. dip — to sink
  13. field — for sport
  14. last — final
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. cell — a phone
  17. scale — size or range
  18. bark — to shout
  19. bear — the animal
  20. field — farmland
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. scale — in music

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