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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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  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. bark — a dog's sound
  2. ground — the earth
  3. ground — crushed
  4. last — finally
  5. cap — a lid
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. last — to go on
  10. last — final
  11. ground — a position
  12. field — a subject
  13. field — for sport
  14. field — farmland
  15. cap — a hat
  16. march — music
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. cap — of ice
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. march — the month
  22. pass — a permit
  23. march — the month
  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