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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. swing — to play on
  3. cue — for pool
  4. key — for a lock
  5. bark — to shout
  6. swing — music
  7. field — for sport
  8. saw — the tool
  9. tear — from crying
  10. tear — from crying
  11. saw — the tool
  12. field — a subject
  13. field — farmland
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. key — the most important part
  16. tear — to rip
  17. swing — in golf
  18. last — to go on
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. last — final
  21. cue — a hint
  22. key — in music
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. cue — a signal

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