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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. net — in sport
  3. net — for catching
  4. net — after costs
  5. bark — to shout
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. spell — magic
  10. stand — to bear
  11. court — of law
  12. court — for sport
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. pound — a weight
  16. field — farmland
  17. spell — a short time
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. court — of a king
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. spell — letters
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. field — for sport

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