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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: staff · bark · hand · fine · can · field · row · mate

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. fine — high quality
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. mate — a partner
  6. mate — a friend
  7. fine — all right
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. field — a subject
  10. hand — in cards
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. field — for sport
  13. field — farmland
  14. staff — employees
  15. bark — to shout
  16. can — to be able to
  17. row — a line
  18. row — to paddle
  19. staff — employees
  20. hand — help
  21. mate — to breed
  22. staff — a stick
  23. can — a tin
  24. can — a tin

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