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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 don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  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 — a dog's sound
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. field — a subject
  4. snap — to click
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. root — of a word
  8. bark — to shout
  9. chest — a box
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. root — the cause
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. pit — a hole
  17. chest — of your body
  18. root — of a plant
  19. chest — of your body
  20. pit — in a race
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. field — farmland
  23. toast — bread
  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