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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. can — a tin
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. cap — a lid
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. can — to be able to
  8. band — a ring
  9. snap — to click
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. spell — letters
  12. season — in sport
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. cap — a hat
  15. band — a music group
  16. spell — magic
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. cap — of ice
  19. season — of the year
  20. can — a tin
  21. spell — a short time
  22. bark — to shout
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. band — a rubber band

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