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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 116 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: net · ground · spell · field · shower · race · branch · season

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. field — farmland
  4. net — for catching
  5. spell — a short time
  6. net — after costs
  7. ground — a position
  8. net — in sport
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. field — a subject
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. spell — magic
  13. race — humankind
  14. race — the arms race
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. branch — a division
  17. field — for sport
  18. shower — rain
  19. spell — letters
  20. ground — the earth
  21. season — of the year
  22. shower — to wash
  23. race — a contest
  24. season — in 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