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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: kick · chair · bark · key · swing · mark · fine · field

  1. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. swing — to play on
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. key — for a lock
  6. mark — a grade
  7. mark — a trace
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. fine — high quality
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. bark — to shout
  13. field — farmland
  14. swing — in golf
  15. field — for sport
  16. swing — music
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. key — the most important part
  19. key — in music
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. field — a subject
  22. kick — in football
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. chair — a leader

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