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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: bark · stand · bass · row · racket · craft · field · court

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. court — of a king
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. bass — low music
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. stand — to bear
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. craft — a skill
  11. field — for sport
  12. field — a subject
  13. bass — the fish
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. bark — to shout
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. field — farmland
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. craft — boats
  20. court — of law
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. row — a line
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. row — to paddle

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