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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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. rash — a series
  6. cell — a phone
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. field — farmland
  9. date — the fruit
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. rush — hurry
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. object — an aim
  14. field — a subject
  15. bark — to shout
  16. object — to protest
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. cell — in biology
  21. field — for sport
  22. rash — hasty
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. cell — in a prison

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