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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. spring — a coil
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. ball — a great time
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. land — ground
  8. spring — the season
  9. bark — to shout
  10. field — farmland
  11. field — a subject
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. bear — the animal
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. land — to come down
  16. field — for sport
  17. ball — a dance
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. spring — of water
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. branch — a division
  23. bear — the animal
  24. calf — of the leg

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