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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: hand · racket · bark · drill · court · hide · leaves · field

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. hand — help
  3. field — a subject
  4. field — farmland
  5. court — of law
  6. field — for sport
  7. court — of a king
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. drill — army training
  11. bark — to shout
  12. drill — a practice
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. hand — in cards
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. drill — the tool
  24. court — for sport

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