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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 120 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: foot · last · squash · mine · bound · bark · field · pass

  1. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — part of the body
  2. field — for sport
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. bound — tied together
  6. pass — a permit
  7. mine — for digging
  8. bound — certain
  9. bark — to shout
  10. squash — to crush
  11. field — a subject
  12. squash — the sport
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. bound — obliged
  15. last — final
  16. field — farmland
  17. last — finally
  18. last — to go on
  19. foot — a measure
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. foot — the bottom

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