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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 120 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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: firm · season · lean · land · bark · hand · object · snap

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. lean — thin
  3. object — to protest
  4. land — ground
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. firm — decided
  9. hand — help
  10. land — to come down
  11. firm — a company
  12. lean — to bend
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. land — a country
  16. object — a thing
  17. firm — steady
  18. bark — to shout
  19. object — an aim
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. season — in sport
  23. snap — to click
  24. hand — in cards

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