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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: bat · stand · bark · rest · field · wound · pass · lie

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. rest — what's left
  3. rest — what's left
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. field — farmland
  6. field — for sport
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. stand — to bear
  11. wound — an injury
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. field — a subject
  14. wound — an injury
  15. lie — to recline
  16. pass — a permit
  17. bark — to shout
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. bat — the animal
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. bat — in an idiom

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