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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 · staff · bark · ball · clip · date · court · fall

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. ball — a dance
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. court — of a king
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. date — the fruit
  8. clip — to cut
  9. fall — to drop
  10. clip — a video
  11. clip — for paper
  12. field — for sport
  13. staff — employees
  14. court — of law
  15. staff — employees
  16. ball — a great time
  17. fall — the season
  18. court — for sport
  19. field — farmland
  20. field — a subject
  21. staff — a stick
  22. fall — to drop
  23. bark — to shout
  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