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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: bark · drill · perch · craft · wound · field · bear · rule

  1. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. field — farmland
  3. drill — a practice
  4. perch — the fish
  5. drill — the tool
  6. craft — a skill
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. field — for sport
  11. wound — an injury
  12. bear — the animal
  13. craft — boats
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. bear — the animal
  18. wound — an injury
  19. rule — a law
  20. rule — government
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. bark — to shout
  23. drill — army training
  24. field — a subject

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