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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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468
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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. saw — the tool
  5. craft — a skill
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. bark — to shout
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. saw — the tool
  14. lie — to recline
  15. season — in sport
  16. craft — boats
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. land — a country
  19. chair — a leader
  20. fork — in a road
  21. season — of the year
  22. land — ground
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. land — to come down

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