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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: spell · land · bore · season · field · shower · bowl · net

  1. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. land — to come down
  3. net — after costs
  4. spell — letters
  5. land — a country
  6. bore — to drill
  7. field — farmland
  8. field — for sport
  9. net — for catching
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. shower — rain
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. field — a subject
  14. shower — to wash
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. bore — to tire
  17. land — ground
  18. season — of the year
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. spell — magic
  21. season — in sport
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. net — in sport
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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