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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 116 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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. object — a thing
  4. object — to protest
  5. key — for a lock
  6. field — farmland
  7. court — of a king
  8. tear — from crying
  9. court — of law
  10. key — in music
  11. game — wild animals
  12. tube — the underground
  13. field — a subject
  14. field — for sport
  15. court — for sport
  16. key — the most important part
  17. tear — to rip
  18. game — a match
  19. object — an aim
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. bark — to shout
  24. tear — from crying

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