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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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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: bark · mouse · rush · last · club · field · court · pound

  1. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. last — to go on
  3. field — farmland
  4. last — finally
  5. last — final
  6. rush — hurry
  7. court — for sport
  8. club — for dancing
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. field — a subject
  11. bark — to shout
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. court — of a king
  15. club — a group
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. club — for golf
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. pound — a weight
  20. field — for sport
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. court — of law
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. mouse — the animal

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