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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 116 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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. lean — to bend
  3. lean — thin
  4. net — in sport
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. bark — to shout
  7. field — for sport
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. spell — magic
  10. spell — a short time
  11. season — of the year
  12. ground — a position
  13. fork — in a road
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. field — a subject
  16. net — after costs
  17. season — in sport
  18. field — farmland
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. net — for catching
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. ground — the earth
  23. spell — letters
  24. fork — a garden tool

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