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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. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. toast — bread
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. field — a subject
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. field — farmland
  9. fine — high quality
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. spring — of water
  13. hand — help
  14. wind — moving air
  15. field — for sport
  16. fine — all right
  17. wind — moving air
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. spring — the season
  20. rash — a series
  21. spring — a coil
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. hand — in cards
  24. rash — hasty

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