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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 116 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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. deal — to handle
  3. bark — to shout
  4. field — farmland
  5. field — a subject
  6. tube — the underground
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. spell — a short time
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. spell — magic
  11. mate — a partner
  12. mine — for digging
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. mate — to breed
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. mate — a friend
  20. field — for sport
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. spell — letters
  23. tube — a container
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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