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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: fan · field · pound · bark · last · court · present · lash

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. last — final
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. field — farmland
  10. present — there
  11. field — a subject
  12. pound — a weight
  13. court — of a king
  14. bark — to shout
  15. court — for sport
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. present — the time now
  18. court — of law
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. field — for sport
  21. last — finally
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. present — a gift
  24. last — to go on

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