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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. court — of law
  4. field — for sport
  5. object — to protest
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. object — a thing
  8. hand — in cards
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. mine — for digging
  11. bark — to shout
  12. pit — in a race
  13. hand — help
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. court — of a king
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. pit — a hole
  21. field — a subject
  22. object — an aim
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. court — 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