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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: field · fork · bark · mouse · court · stand · hand · chip

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. field — for sport
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. fork — in a road
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. hand — help
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. stand — to bear
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. chip — to eat
  13. court — of a king
  14. field — farmland
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. court — for sport
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. hand — in cards
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. court — of law
  22. bark — to shout
  23. chip — for betting
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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