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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 · ground · drill · wound · pitcher · trunk · fork · bark

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. field — farmland
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. fork — in a road
  5. field — a subject
  6. wound — an injury
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. ground — the earth
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. bark — to shout
  13. ground — crushed
  14. wound — an injury
  15. drill — army training
  16. drill — a practice
  17. ground — a position
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. drill — the tool
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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