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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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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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. bark — to shout
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. perch — the fish
  6. field — a subject
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. club — a group
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. club — for dancing
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. field — farmland
  14. season — in sport
  15. club — for golf
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. field — for sport
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. stem — to come from
  23. shower — to wash
  24. shower — rain

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