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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 120 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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. season — of the year
  3. bound — certain
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. cold — not warm
  7. deal — to handle
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. field — for sport
  10. bark — to shout
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. field — farmland
  14. field — a subject
  15. bound — tied together
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. bound — obliged
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. cold — an illness
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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