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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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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: pound · bear · mark · wound · ground · bark · field · ruler

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. bear — the animal
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. wound — an injury
  8. field — for sport
  9. ground — crushed
  10. ground — a position
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. bark — to shout
  13. pound — a weight
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. field — a subject
  16. field — farmland
  17. ground — the earth
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. mark — a trace
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. bear — the animal
  23. mark — a grade
  24. ruler — for measuring

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