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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: row · bark · chest · tube · sharp · field · chip · mouse

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. tube — the underground
  4. field — a subject
  5. bark — to shout
  6. row — to paddle
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. chest — of your body
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. chest — a box
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. chest — of your body
  19. row — a line
  20. field — for sport
  21. chip — for betting
  22. chip — to eat
  23. tube — a container
  24. field — farmland

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