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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 124 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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. net — after costs
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. mine — for digging
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. net — for catching
  11. chip — to eat
  12. chip — for betting
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. bark — to shout
  15. field — farmland
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. net — in sport
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. wax — to grow
  22. field — for sport
  23. field — a subject
  24. mine — belonging to me

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