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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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. ball — a great time
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. rash — a series
  7. bark — to shout
  8. field — a subject
  9. ball — a dance
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. bear — the animal
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. pound — a weight
  16. branch — a division
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. bear — the animal
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. field — farmland
  22. rash — hasty
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. field — for sport

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