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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 120 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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. cap — a lid
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. field — for sport
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. field — farmland
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. cap — a hat
  10. plane — a tool
  11. bear — the animal
  12. mark — a grade
  13. mark — a trace
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. bear — the animal
  18. kid — to tease
  19. perch — the fish
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. cap — of ice
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. bark — to shout
  24. kid — child

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