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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. staff — employees
  3. staff — a stick
  4. staff — employees
  5. rock — music
  6. field — for sport
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. rock — a stone
  10. field — a subject
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. bark — to shout
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. press — to push
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. press — newspapers
  19. press — a publisher
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. mine — for digging
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. ruler — a monarch

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