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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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. current — happening now
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. fork — in a road
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. field — for sport
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. sharp — clever
  12. current — electric
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. bark — to shout
  16. field — a subject
  17. bat — the animal
  18. field — farmland
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. current — of water
  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