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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. net — after costs
  3. bear — the animal
  4. field — a subject
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. sharp — clever
  7. chest — of your body
  8. net — for catching
  9. chest — a box
  10. present — a gift
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. net — in sport
  14. field — for sport
  15. present — the time now
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. chest — of your body
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. present — there
  20. bear — the animal
  21. rush — hurry
  22. bark — to shout
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. field — farmland

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