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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: spring · field · row · bark · present · bay · staff · wave

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. field — a subject
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. bark — to shout
  7. staff — a stick
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. present — there
  10. staff — employees
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. spring — a coil
  15. staff — employees
  16. spring — of water
  17. present — a gift
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. field — farmland
  20. present — the time now
  21. row — a line
  22. field — for sport
  23. row — to paddle
  24. spring — the season

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