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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: field · bark · bowl · bear · patient · race

  1. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. field — farmland
  5. race — a contest
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. race — humankind
  9. field — a subject
  10. bark — to shout
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. bear — the animal
  15. field — for sport
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. race — the arms race
  18. bark — a dog's sound

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