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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. bark — to shout
  3. last — to go on
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. field — for sport
  6. board — a committee
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. chip — for betting
  10. capital — a city
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. chip — to eat
  14. mine — for digging
  15. capital — money
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. board — to get on
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. last — finally
  21. field — a subject
  22. last — final
  23. pass — a permit
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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