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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 116 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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. band — a music group
  3. rule — government
  4. net — in sport
  5. bank — for money
  6. kid — to tease
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. field — for sport
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. bark — to shout
  11. bank — of a river
  12. face — part of the head
  13. face — to confront
  14. net — for catching
  15. kid — child
  16. rule — a law
  17. net — after costs
  18. field — a subject
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. face — to point toward
  21. band — a ring
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. bank — for money
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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