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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: key · bark · present · straw · ground · rush · field · foot

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. present — a gift
  3. ground — the earth
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. present — the time now
  8. key — the most important part
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. field — a subject
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. ground — crushed
  13. field — farmland
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. rush — hurry
  16. key — for a lock
  17. foot — a measure
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. field — for sport
  20. key — in music
  21. present — there
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. bark — to shout

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