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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  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. field — farmland
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. scale — size or range
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. field — a subject
  7. clip — a video
  8. bark — to shout
  9. clip — to cut
  10. object — to protest
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. object — a thing
  13. safe — a strongbox
  14. object — an aim
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. field — for sport
  22. clip — for paper
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  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