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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. bark — to shout
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. jam — in traffic
  6. net — after costs
  7. spring — the season
  8. craft — boats
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. chair — a leader
  11. branch — a division
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. jam — a tight spot
  15. craft — a skill
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. net — for catching
  18. net — in sport
  19. field — a subject
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. jam — to spread on bread
  22. spring — of water
  23. field — farmland
  24. spring — a coil

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