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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: content · patient · tear · firm · trunk · bark · field · cabinet

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. tear — from crying
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. firm — steady
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. field — a subject
  8. content — happy
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. tear — from crying
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. firm — a company
  13. field — for sport
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. tear — to rip
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. bark — to shout
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. content — the amount
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. firm — decided

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