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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 sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. field — farmland
  4. key — for a lock
  5. drill — the tool
  6. race — humankind
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. field — a subject
  9. kick — in football
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. race — the arms race
  12. key — in music
  13. race — a contest
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. field — for sport
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. bat — the animal
  18. key — the most important part
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. drill — a practice
  21. perch — the fish
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. drill — army training
  24. bark — of a tree

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