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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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. object — a thing
  3. bark — to shout
  4. wound — an injury
  5. toast — bread
  6. cue — a hint
  7. field — for sport
  8. object — to protest
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. field — a subject
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. cue — a signal
  15. object — an aim
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. row — a line
  18. dip — to sink
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. wound — an injury
  23. row — to paddle
  24. cue — for pool

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