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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. season — of the year
  4. net — in sport
  5. bark — to shout
  6. net — after costs
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. ground — the earth
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. can — to be able to
  12. can — a tin
  13. ground — a position
  14. cold — an illness
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. net — for catching
  18. tube — a container
  19. tube — the underground
  20. cold — not warm
  21. ground — crushed
  22. can — a tin
  23. season — in sport
  24. bay — a horse colour

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