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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: bark · straw · race · field · cell · bank · mine · calf

  1. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. field — for sport
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. bark — to shout
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. bank — of a river
  9. mine — for digging
  10. race — a contest
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. field — farmland
  13. field — a subject
  14. race — the arms race
  15. race — humankind
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. cell — a phone
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. bank — for money
  24. cell — in biology

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