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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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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: staff · mate · ground · bark · club · tear · file · field

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. ground — a position
  3. club — a group
  4. mate — a friend
  5. tear — from crying
  6. staff — a stick
  7. file — a tool
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. file — a document
  10. staff — employees
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. ground — the earth
  13. club — for golf
  14. mate — a partner
  15. field — a subject
  16. file — a line of people
  17. tear — to rip
  18. club — for dancing
  19. mate — to breed
  20. bark — to shout
  21. staff — employees
  22. field — for sport
  23. ground — crushed
  24. tear — from crying

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