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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: field · deal · net · kid · bark · bound · calf · content

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. field — for sport
  3. net — in sport
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. bound — tied together
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. deal — to handle
  10. content — happy
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. net — after costs
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. bound — certain
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. bark — to shout
  17. kid — to tease
  18. field — farmland
  19. field — a subject
  20. kid — child
  21. content — the amount
  22. bound — obliged
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. bark — of a tree

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