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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. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — in a race
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. field — farmland
  6. rash — a series
  7. file — a line of people
  8. file — a tool
  9. wound — an injury
  10. bark — to shout
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. rash — hasty
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. kid — to tease
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. kid — child
  18. file — a document
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. field — for sport
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. wound — an injury
  23. field — a subject
  24. pit — a hole

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