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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: craft · net · field · rest · pound · object · game · bark

  1. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. net — in sport
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. rest — what's left
  5. game — wild animals
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. rest — a break
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. craft — boats
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. field — for sport
  12. game — a match
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. field — a subject
  15. object — a thing
  16. craft — a skill
  17. field — farmland
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. object — an aim
  20. bark — to shout
  21. net — after costs
  22. rest — what's left
  23. pound — a weight
  24. net — for catching

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