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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. charge — electricity
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. court — of law
  5. field — farmland
  6. field — for sport
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. hand — in cards
  9. field — a subject
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. fork — in a road
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. charge — a price
  17. bark — to shout
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. cell — a phone
  20. cell — in biology
  21. hand — help
  22. court — for sport
  23. court — of a king
  24. charge — in control

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