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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. prune — to trim
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. bark — to shout
  5. prune — to trim
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. land — ground
  9. saw — the tool
  10. present — a gift
  11. land — a country
  12. key — in music
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. field — a subject
  15. saw — the tool
  16. present — there
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. field — farmland
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. land — to come down
  21. present — the time now
  22. key — the most important part
  23. field — for sport
  24. bark — a dog's sound

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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