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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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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: field · shower · drill · last · bark · rule · wound · court

  1. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. bark — to shout
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. field — for sport
  5. drill — a practice
  6. court — of a king
  7. shower — to wash
  8. drill — the tool
  9. wound — an injury
  10. field — a subject
  11. field — farmland
  12. wound — an injury
  13. last — final
  14. rule — government
  15. shower — rain
  16. last — to go on
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. last — finally
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. drill — army training
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. court — for sport
  23. rule — a law
  24. court — of law

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