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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 was locked up in a ________________.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. bark — to shout
  4. field — a subject
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. field — farmland
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. fork — in a road
  12. cell — in biology
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. chip — to eat
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. cell — a phone
  17. field — for sport
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. content — happy
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. chip — for betting
  23. content — the amount
  24. temple — side of the head

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