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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: bound · field · content · mine · arm · tube · bark · drill

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. field — a subject
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. tube — the underground
  5. bound — obliged
  6. bound — certain
  7. field — farmland
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. drill — the tool
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. tube — a container
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. mine — for digging
  14. content — the amount
  15. drill — a practice
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. bark — to shout
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. field — for sport
  23. content — happy
  24. bound — tied together

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