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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. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. capital — money
  4. bulb — for light
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. roll — a cake
  7. roll — a list
  8. field — a subject
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. field — farmland
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. drill — a practice
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. capital — a city
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. field — for sport
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. bark — to shout
  20. drill — army training
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. bulb — for light
  23. drill — the tool
  24. deal — to handle

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