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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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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: wound · field · cell · craft · bark · staff · club · pass

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. club — for golf
  3. pass — a permit
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. cell — a phone
  6. field — for sport
  7. club — a group
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. club — for dancing
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. field — farmland
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. field — a subject
  15. cell — in biology
  16. wound — an injury
  17. wound — an injury
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. craft — a skill
  20. craft — boats
  21. staff — employees
  22. staff — employees
  23. staff — a stick
  24. pass — to succeed

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