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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 116 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 stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. snap — to click
  3. mark — a grade
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. file — a document
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. lie — to recline
  8. current — electric
  9. wake — a trail
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. file — a line of people
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. field — farmland
  15. field — a subject
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. current — of water
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. file — a tool
  22. current — happening now
  23. mark — a trace
  24. bark — to shout

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