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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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. field — farmland
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. spring — of water
  6. spring — a coil
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. chair — a leader
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. spring — the season
  13. bark — to shout
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. field — a subject
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. snap — to click

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