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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. pass — a permit
  3. field — a subject
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. field — farmland
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. field — for sport
  14. vault — a safe
  15. sharp — clever
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. snap — to click
  21. bark — to shout
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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