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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: game · bark · rest · clip · field · bowl · lean · date

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. game — wild animals
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. lean — to bend
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. date — the fruit
  8. clip — a video
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. rest — what's left
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. game — a match
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. clip — for paper
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. field — a subject
  18. lean — thin
  19. rest — what's left
  20. clip — to cut
  21. field — farmland
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. field — for sport
  24. rest — a break

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