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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. perch — the fish
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. stand — to bear
  5. field — farmland
  6. field — for sport
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. dip — to sink
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. content — happy
  17. bank — of a river
  18. bank — for money
  19. content — the amount
  20. bank — for money
  21. field — a subject
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. game — a match
  24. game — wild animals

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