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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: field · bark · hide · track · plane · wound · branch · can

  1. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. field — a subject
  3. plane — a tool
  4. bark — to shout
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. track — a song
  7. field — farmland
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. can — a tin
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. wound — an injury
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. field — for sport
  18. branch — a division
  19. wound — an injury
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. can — to be able to
  22. track — to keep track
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. track — a path

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