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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. last — final
  4. bear — the animal
  5. march — music
  6. bark — to shout
  7. last — finally
  8. field — for sport
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. fall — the season
  12. fall — to drop
  13. fork — in a road
  14. field — farmland
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. bear — the animal
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. field — a subject
  20. fall — to drop
  21. march — the month
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. march — the month

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