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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. staff — employees
  3. bark — to shout
  4. staff — employees
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. field — farmland
  7. tear — from crying
  8. current — electric
  9. current — of water
  10. field — for sport
  11. wind — moving air
  12. tear — to rip
  13. staff — a stick
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. march — the month
  18. march — music
  19. current — happening now
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. march — the month
  22. tear — from crying
  23. wind — moving air
  24. cabinet — ministers

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