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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. field — farmland
  3. squash — to crush
  4. field — for sport
  5. land — a country
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. field — a subject
  11. land — to come down
  12. squash — the sport
  13. pitch — completely
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. prune — to trim
  16. saw — the tool
  17. prune — to trim
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. bark — to shout
  20. land — ground
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. saw — the tool

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