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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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. chest — of your body
  3. lean — thin
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. field — for sport
  7. field — farmland
  8. lean — to bend
  9. wake — a trail
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. mark — a grade
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. field — a subject
  15. present — the time now
  16. bark — to shout
  17. present — there
  18. present — a gift
  19. chest — a box
  20. chest — of your body
  21. mark — a trace
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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