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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 120 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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. field — farmland
  5. rash — a series
  6. wound — an injury
  7. face — to point toward
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. content — happy
  11. content — the amount
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. rash — hasty
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. charge — electricity
  16. field — a subject
  17. charge — in control
  18. face — to confront
  19. bark — to shout
  20. face — part of the head
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. field — for sport
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. charge — a price

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