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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 captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. field — farmland
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. stand — to bear
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. field — a subject
  11. game — wild animals
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. bark — to shout
  14. game — a match
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. hand — in cards
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. board — a committee
  20. hand — help
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. field — for sport

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