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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: land · bowl · staff · game · patient · field · bark · wound

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. staff — a stick
  3. wound — an injury
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. game — wild animals
  6. bark — to shout
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. staff — employees
  9. field — for sport
  10. land — to come down
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. wound — an injury
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. game — a match
  15. field — farmland
  16. staff — employees
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. field — a subject
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. land — ground
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. land — a country

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