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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 116 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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. 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. season — of the year
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. field — a subject
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. season — in sport
  6. snap — to click
  7. can — to be able to
  8. can — a tin
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. net — for catching
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. can — a tin
  14. net — in sport
  15. net — after costs
  16. field — farmland
  17. bark — to shout
  18. 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