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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. pitch — completely
  4. bark — to shout
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. court — for sport
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. court — of a king
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. bat — the animal
  18. mine — for digging
  19. court — of law
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. foot — a measure

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