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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. wake — a trail
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. chest — a box
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. field — a subject
  13. bear — the animal
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. chest — of your body
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. bear — the animal
  20. field — farmland
  21. chest — of your body
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. field — for sport

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