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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: wake · season · field · spring · race · bark · chip · content

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. race — humankind
  3. chip — to eat
  4. field — for sport
  5. spring — the season
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. content — happy
  8. field — a subject
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. wake — a trail
  11. bark — to shout
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. race — a contest
  15. spring — of water
  16. season — in sport
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. field — farmland
  19. chip — for betting
  20. content — the amount
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. race — the arms race
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. season — of the year

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