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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. field — a subject
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. present — a gift
  5. field — farmland
  6. roll — a cake
  7. field — for sport
  8. present — the time now
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. present — there
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. hand — help
  17. rule — a law
  18. bark — to shout
  19. roll — a list
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. rule — government
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. hand — in cards
  24. vault — a safe

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