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

Word bank: club · field · tear · bark · board · fall

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. fall — to drop
  3. club — for dancing
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. tear — to rip
  6. field — for sport
  7. board — to get on
  8. field — farmland
  9. club — a group
  10. tear — from crying
  11. field — a subject
  12. fall — to drop
  13. bark — to shout
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. board — a committee
  16. tear — from crying
  17. fall — the season
  18. bark — of a tree

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