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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: row · track · roll · bark · shower · field · lie · season

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. lie — to recline
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. field — farmland
  9. roll — a cake
  10. shower — rain
  11. track — a song
  12. row — a line
  13. bark — to shout
  14. season — of the year
  15. shower — to wash
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. track — to keep track
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. season — in sport
  20. roll — a list
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. row — to paddle
  23. track — a path
  24. field — for sport

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