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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. drill — a practice
  6. field — a subject
  7. land — a country
  8. bark — to shout
  9. track — a song
  10. ground — a position
  11. field — farmland
  12. track — a path
  13. press — a publisher
  14. land — ground
  15. track — to keep track
  16. field — for sport
  17. ground — the earth
  18. press — newspapers
  19. drill — the tool
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. ground — crushed
  22. drill — army training
  23. press — to push
  24. land — to come down

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