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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: ground · jam · roll · bark · spring · season · arm · land

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  19. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. land — to come down
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. land — a country
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. roll — a cake
  7. season — in sport
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. spring — the season
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. ground — the earth
  13. bark — to shout
  14. ground — a position
  15. season — of the year
  16. ground — crushed
  17. land — ground
  18. jam — to spread on bread
  19. jam — a tight spot
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. spring — of water
  22. roll — a list
  23. spring — a coil
  24. arm — part of the body

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