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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. object — a thing
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. field — farmland
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. sharp — clever
  7. press — to push
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. court — of a king
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. court — of law
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. court — for sport
  14. field — for sport
  15. bat — the animal
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. press — a publisher
  18. object — an aim
  19. bark — to shout
  20. object — to protest
  21. field — a subject
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. press — newspapers
  24. sharp — with an edge

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