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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.

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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: bark · race · track · field · staff · bowl · spell · season

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. track — to keep track
  4. season — of the year
  5. spell — magic
  6. season — in sport
  7. race — a contest
  8. spell — a short time
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. field — a subject
  11. track — a song
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. track — a path
  15. field — for sport
  16. race — humankind
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. race — the arms race
  19. staff — a stick
  20. staff — employees
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. field — farmland
  23. bark — to shout
  24. staff — employees

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