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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. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. last — to go on
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. bass — low music
  5. bark — to shout
  6. mug — a face
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. track — a path
  9. staff — a stick
  10. last — finally
  11. field — for sport
  12. track — to keep track
  13. staff — employees
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. last — final
  16. mug — to rob
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. field — farmland
  19. bass — the fish
  20. staff — employees
  21. track — a song
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. field — a subject
  24. bark — of a tree

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