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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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. field — farmland
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. pit — in a race
  6. row — to paddle
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. bark — to shout
  9. present — there
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. field — a subject
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. pit — a hole
  16. present — the time now
  17. staff — employees
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. field — for sport
  20. present — a gift
  21. date — the fruit
  22. row — a line
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. staff — a stick

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