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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. file — a line of people
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. field — for sport
  6. tear — from crying
  7. file — a tool
  8. deal — to handle
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. file — a document
  11. field — farmland
  12. tear — to rip
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. bark — to shout
  17. foot — a measure
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. plane — a tool
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. tear — from crying
  24. field — a subject

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