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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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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: land · degree · craft · bank · spring · bark · field · squash

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. craft — boats
  3. spring — the season
  4. bark — to shout
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. field — for sport
  7. bank — for money
  8. degree — temperature
  9. land — a country
  10. degree — from a university
  11. spring — a coil
  12. degree — an amount
  13. craft — a skill
  14. field — a subject
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. bank — of a river
  17. squash — to crush
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. bank — for money
  20. land — ground
  21. spring — of water
  22. land — to come down
  23. squash — the sport
  24. field — farmland

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