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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  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. rush — to hurry
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. field — a subject
  6. spring — the season
  7. degree — temperature
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. fall — to drop
  10. lie — to recline
  11. spring — of water
  12. degree — an amount
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. fall — the season
  16. field — farmland
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. rush — hurry
  19. field — for sport
  20. fall — to drop
  21. spring — a coil
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. degree — from a university
  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