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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: field · cabinet · season · bark · game · fine · pop · last

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. field — farmland
  5. season — in sport
  6. pop — music
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. season — of the year
  10. last — finally
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. game — wild animals
  14. last — final
  15. field — a subject
  16. bark — to shout
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. fine — high quality
  19. fine — all right
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. field — for sport
  22. pop — soda
  23. last — to go on
  24. game — a match

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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