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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. board — to get on
  4. bark — to shout
  5. spring — of water
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. perch — the fish
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. spring — a coil
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. vault — a safe
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. spring — the season
  19. field — for sport
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. board — a committee
  22. field — a subject
  23. branch — a division
  24. mine — for digging

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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