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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: spring · rest · field · rash · pop · deal · board · bark

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. spring — the season
  3. pop — music
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. field — a subject
  6. rash — a series
  7. rash — hasty
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. rest — what's left
  10. rest — a break
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. spring — of water
  13. pop — soda
  14. board — to get on
  15. spring — a coil
  16. board — a committee
  17. rest — what's left
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. deal — to handle
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. bark — to shout
  22. pop — to visit
  23. field — for sport
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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