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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. field — for sport
  4. mate — to breed
  5. field — farmland
  6. bark — to shout
  7. ground — crushed
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. mate — a friend
  10. ground — a position
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. mate — a partner
  13. pit — a hole
  14. ground — the earth
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. pit — in a race
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. snap — to click
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. field — a subject

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