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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 ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. net — in sport
  3. mate — a partner
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. net — after costs
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. net — for catching
  9. branch — a division
  10. field — a subject
  11. bat — the animal
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. field — for sport
  15. bark — to shout
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. mate — to breed
  19. mate — a friend
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. branch — of a bank

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