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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: season · bowl · ground · shower · stand · mouse · bark · last

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. ground — crushed
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. season — of the year
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. last — final
  12. bark — to shout
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. shower — to wash
  15. shower — rain
  16. stand — to bear
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. season — in sport
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. last — to go on
  21. ground — a position
  22. ground — the earth
  23. last — finally
  24. bowl — to roll

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