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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: hide · date · prune · fall · bass · ground · field · bark

  1. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. field — for sport
  3. field — a subject
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. prune — to trim
  6. bass — low music
  7. ground — a position
  8. fall — the season
  9. ground — crushed
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. bark — to shout
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. prune — to trim
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. bass — the fish
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. date — the fruit
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. fall — to drop
  21. field — farmland
  22. fall — to drop
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. date — on the calendar

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