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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. fine — high quality
  5. kid — to tease
  6. field — farmland
  7. kid — child
  8. tear — from crying
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. tear — from crying
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. field — a subject
  13. bulb — for light
  14. tear — to rip
  15. fine — all right
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. plane — a tool
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. bark — to shout
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. dip — to sink
  24. bulb — for light

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