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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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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: land · club · field · pass · wave · present · bark · snap

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. club — for dancing
  3. land — to come down
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. present — there
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. field — for sport
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. field — farmland
  10. land — ground
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. pass — a permit
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. present — a gift
  16. club — a group
  17. snap — to click
  18. bark — to shout
  19. field — a subject
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. present — the time now
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. club — for golf
  24. 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