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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: ground · field · perch · wind · rush · hide · bark · craft

  1. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. field — for sport
  4. field — a subject
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. craft — boats
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. rush — hurry
  9. bark — to shout
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. wind — moving air
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. field — farmland
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. perch — the fish
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. wind — moving air
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. craft — a skill
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. ground — the earth
  23. ground — a position
  24. ground — crushed

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