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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: cabinet · bark · calf · bore · land · field · wound · fine

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. field — farmland
  3. field — a subject
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. land — to come down
  6. bore — to drill
  7. bark — to shout
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. fine — all right
  13. bore — to tire
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. wound — an injury
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. wound — an injury
  18. field — for sport
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. fine — high quality
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. land — a country
  23. land — ground
  24. calf — a young animal

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