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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. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — for measuring
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. field — for sport
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. rock — music
  7. bark — to shout
  8. content — the amount
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. content — happy
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. band — a ring
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. branch — a division
  17. rock — a stone
  18. band — a music group
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. field — farmland
  21. field — a subject
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. branch — of a bank

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