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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. field — farmland
  3. staff — a stick
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. degree — from a university
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. degree — temperature
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. degree — an amount
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. cell — in biology
  13. field — for sport
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. cell — a phone
  16. staff — employees
  17. staff — employees
  18. court — for sport
  19. court — of law
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. field — a subject
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. court — of a king
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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