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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: wave · cabinet · jam · season · bark · mark · bat · field

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. bat — the animal
  3. mark — a grade
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. season — of the year
  8. field — a subject
  9. field — for sport
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. bark — to shout
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. mark — a trace
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. season — in sport
  24. field — farmland

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