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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 120 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: last · ball · fall · prune · bark · wind · bound · field

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. field — for sport
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. bound — obliged
  6. fall — to drop
  7. field — a subject
  8. fall — to drop
  9. ball — a dance
  10. prune — to trim
  11. ball — a great time
  12. bark — to shout
  13. wind — moving air
  14. bound — certain
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. last — to go on
  17. bound — tied together
  18. field — farmland
  19. prune — to trim
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. fall — the season
  22. last — final
  23. wind — moving air
  24. last — finally

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