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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: band · field · staff · bark · scale · tear · snap · game

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. scale — in music
  4. scale — size or range
  5. staff — employees
  6. snap — to click
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. field — for sport
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. field — farmland
  12. field — a subject
  13. game — a match
  14. bark — to shout
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. game — wild animals
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. tear — to rip
  19. tear — from crying
  20. staff — a stick
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. band — a ring
  23. band — a music group
  24. staff — employees

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