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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: mouse · wake · field · pop · bark · bay · land · court

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. land — a country
  5. land — to come down
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. field — a subject
  8. land — ground
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. court — for sport
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. court — of law
  14. field — for sport
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. bark — to shout
  17. pop — to visit
  18. field — farmland
  19. pop — music
  20. court — of a king
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. pop — soda
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. wake — a trail

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