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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. season — in sport
  3. hand — in cards
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. season — of the year
  7. field — for sport
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. mate — to breed
  10. rule — government
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. field — farmland
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. bark — to shout
  16. board — a committee
  17. board — to get on
  18. mate — a friend
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. field — a subject
  21. perch — the fish
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. rule — a law
  24. mate — a partner

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