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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 120 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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  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. bark — of a tree
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. lean — thin
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. ball — a great time
  6. field — for sport
  7. shower — to wash
  8. ball — a dance
  9. lean — to bend
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. pitch — completely
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. field — farmland
  17. sharp — clever
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. field — a subject
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. shower — rain
  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