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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. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. last — final
  5. bark — to shout
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. season — in sport
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. ball — a great time
  12. rush — hurry
  13. ball — a dance
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. fork — in a road
  18. mine — for digging
  19. season — of the year
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. last — to go on
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. last — finally
  24. ball — a round shape

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