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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.

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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 · lash · ground · bay · chip · drill · field · rest

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. field — farmland
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. field — for sport
  7. field — a subject
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. ground — crushed
  11. rest — what's left
  12. rest — what's left
  13. ground — a position
  14. chip — to eat
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. bark — to shout
  18. drill — a practice
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. chip — for betting
  21. drill — the tool
  22. drill — army training
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. ground — the earth

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