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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: board · field · stem · lean · pound · snap · court · bark

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. stem — to come from
  3. lean — to bend
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. field — a subject
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. board — a committee
  9. bark — to shout
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. field — farmland
  14. pound — a weight
  15. board — to get on
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. court — of law
  18. court — of a king
  19. snap — to click
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. lean — thin
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. field — for sport

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