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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. staff — employees
  3. pound — a weight
  4. lean — to bend
  5. field — farmland
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. mug — a face
  8. mug — a cup
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. field — a subject
  11. staff — employees
  12. staff — a stick
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. bark — to shout
  15. hand — in cards
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. lean — thin
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. mug — to rob
  23. field — for sport
  24. hand — help

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