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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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. field — a subject
  3. cell — in biology
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. field — for sport
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. cell — a phone
  9. field — farmland
  10. season — of the year
  11. rock — music
  12. chip — to eat
  13. season — in sport
  14. date — the fruit
  15. bark — to shout
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. chip — for betting
  21. rock — a stone
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. date — on the calendar

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