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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 116 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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. field — a subject
  3. rule — a law
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. charge — a price
  6. fork — in a road
  7. field — farmland
  8. field — for sport
  9. chip — to eat
  10. rule — government
  11. bark — to shout
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. charge — electricity
  14. clip — for paper
  15. clip — to cut
  16. charge — in control
  17. clip — a video
  18. chip — for betting
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. fork — to eat with

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