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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: capital · bore · field · present · bark · wave · ruler · band

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. bore — to tire
  3. field — for sport
  4. capital — money
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. present — a gift
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. present — there
  9. band — a music group
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. bore — to drill
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. band — a ring
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. field — a subject
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. field — farmland
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. capital — a city
  24. present — the time now

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