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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. pop — music
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. bark — to shout
  5. pop — soda
  6. wind — moving air
  7. field — for sport
  8. face — to confront
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. rash — a series
  11. pop — to visit
  12. wind — moving air
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. field — a subject
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. saw — the tool
  19. saw — the tool
  20. face — to point toward
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. rash — hasty
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. face — part of the head

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