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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. wound — an injury
  3. field — a subject
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. file — a line of people
  7. wound — an injury
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. field — for sport
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. ground — the earth
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. sharp — clever
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. bark — to shout
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. file — a document
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. ground — a position
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. ground — crushed
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. field — farmland
  24. file — a tool

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