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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
468
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: lean · safe · field · bowl · cold · bark · ground · squash

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. ground — a position
  3. cold — not warm
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. field — farmland
  8. lean — thin
  9. squash — the sport
  10. lean — to bend
  11. squash — to crush
  12. ground — the earth
  13. field — for sport
  14. bark — to shout
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. ground — crushed
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. safe — a strongbox
  20. cold — an illness
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. field — a subject

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