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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: wound · field · march · bear · wave · bark · straw · bore

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. wound — an injury
  3. bear — the animal
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. bore — to tire
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. march — the month
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. bark — to shout
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. bear — the animal
  13. march — music
  14. bore — to drill
  15. field — a subject
  16. wound — an injury
  17. march — the month
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. field — farmland
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. field — for sport
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. bore — gave birth

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