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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: drill · cabinet · court · field · kid · bulb · bear · bark

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. court — for sport
  4. bear — the animal
  5. field — farmland
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. court — of a king
  8. drill — a practice
  9. drill — army training
  10. court — of law
  11. field — a subject
  12. kid — child
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. bulb — for light
  15. field — for sport
  16. bulb — for light
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. kid — to tease
  22. bark — to shout
  23. bear — the animal
  24. drill — the tool

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