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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. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  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. mouse — the animal
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. lean — to bend
  5. club — a group
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. saw — the tool
  8. club — for golf
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. lean — thin
  13. field — farmland
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. land — to come down
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. bark — to shout
  18. saw — the tool
  19. snap — to click
  20. land — ground
  21. land — a country
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. club — for dancing
  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