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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: can · wound · foot · hand · roll · track · bark · field

  1. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — part of the body
  2. field — a subject
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. track — a path
  6. hand — help
  7. field — farmland
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. track — a song
  11. foot — a measure
  12. bark — to shout
  13. wound — an injury
  14. field — for sport
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. can — to be able to
  17. wound — an injury
  18. roll — a cake
  19. can — a tin
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. roll — a list
  22. track — to keep track
  23. can — a tin
  24. hand — in cards

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