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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 ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. game — wild animals
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. ground — crushed
  6. season — in sport
  7. bark — to shout
  8. season — of the year
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. ground — a position
  12. squash — to crush
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. band — a ring
  15. game — a match
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. band — a music group
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. perch — the fish
  24. squash — the 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