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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 120 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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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: kid · bank · season · pass · field · tear · bark · court

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. bark — to shout
  3. court — of law
  4. kid — to tease
  5. field — for sport
  6. pass — a permit
  7. tear — from crying
  8. court — of a king
  9. field — a subject
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. bank — for money
  12. kid — child
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. season — in sport
  16. tear — to rip
  17. bank — of a river
  18. field — farmland
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. season — of the year
  21. bank — for money
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. tear — from crying
  24. court — for sport

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