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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: bear · bark · bowl · field · rule · mine · row · patient

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. field — a subject
  4. bear — the animal
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. row — to paddle
  8. rule — government
  9. field — farmland
  10. field — for sport
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. bark — to shout
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. mine — for digging
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. bear — the animal
  20. rule — a law
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. row — a line
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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