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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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Word bank
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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. field — a subject
  3. can — a tin
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. field — for sport
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. saw — the tool
  8. face — part of the head
  9. season — of the year
  10. pit — a hole
  11. pit — in a race
  12. land — ground
  13. land — to come down
  14. face — to point toward
  15. field — farmland
  16. season — in sport
  17. land — a country
  18. bark — to shout
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. can — a tin
  21. saw — the tool
  22. can — to be able to
  23. face — to confront
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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