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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 116 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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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: field · bat · bark · row · leaves · stick · wound · bowl

  1. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. bark — to shout
  3. wound — an injury
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. field — farmland
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. field — for sport
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. bat — the animal
  19. field — a subject
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. row — a line
  22. row — to paddle
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. wound — an injury

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