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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. prune — to trim
  6. prune — to trim
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. saw — the tool
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. bark — to shout
  12. field — farmland
  13. field — a subject
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. field — for sport
  16. saw — the tool
  17. ball — a great time
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. ground — the earth
  21. ground — a position
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. ball — a dance

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