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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: bark · drill · field · kid · plane · rush · charge · bore

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. charge — a price
  3. charge — electricity
  4. kid — to tease
  5. drill — the tool
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. plane — a tool
  8. field — for sport
  9. field — farmland
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. charge — in control
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. bore — to drill
  15. bore — to tire
  16. kid — child
  17. drill — army training
  18. rush — hurry
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. bark — to shout
  21. drill — a practice
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. field — a subject

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