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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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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: net · pound · bark · bulb · squash · present · field · last

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. last — to go on
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. pound — a weight
  5. present — a gift
  6. squash — to crush
  7. bulb — for light
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. present — the time now
  10. bark — to shout
  11. last — finally
  12. field — farmland
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. net — after costs
  15. present — there
  16. last — final
  17. field — a subject
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. net — for catching
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. bulb — for light
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. net — in sport
  24. field — 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