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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. field — for sport
  4. season — in sport
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. field — farmland
  7. mug — to rob
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. last — to go on
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. mark — a trace
  13. squash — to crush
  14. field — a subject
  15. last — final
  16. squash — the sport
  17. mug — a cup
  18. last — finally
  19. mug — a face
  20. spring — of water
  21. mark — a grade
  22. spring — a coil
  23. spring — the season
  24. season — of the year

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