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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
468
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: kick · field · wound · bark · dip · lie · ground · craft

  1. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. wound — an injury
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. craft — a skill
  5. field — for sport
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. ground — crushed
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. ground — a position
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. field — a subject
  15. kick — in football
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. ground — the earth
  19. lie — to recline
  20. wound — an injury
  21. field — farmland
  22. dip — to sink
  23. craft — boats
  24. bark — to shout

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