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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. When will it ________________ you to start?
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. land — to come down
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. field — farmland
  6. pop — to visit
  7. field — for sport
  8. lean — thin
  9. pop — soda
  10. land — a country
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. pop — music
  13. field — a subject
  14. land — ground
  15. suit — in cards
  16. suit — clothes
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. suit — to fit
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. shower — rain
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. lean — to bend
  24. bark — to shout

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