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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: ground · present · ball · shower · season · field · rash · wind

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. present — the time now
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. season — of the year
  5. shower — rain
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. ball — a great time
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. ground — crushed
  10. ground — a position
  11. rash — hasty
  12. shower — to wash
  13. field — for sport
  14. ball — a dance
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. field — farmland
  17. season — in sport
  18. present — a gift
  19. wind — moving air
  20. ground — the earth
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. rash — a series
  23. present — there
  24. wind — moving air

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