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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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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: bass · stick · field · cold · season · kick · rule · bark

  1. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. season — in sport
  5. field — farmland
  6. bass — low music
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. kick — in football
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. cold — not warm
  11. field — a subject
  12. bark — to shout
  13. field — for sport
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. rule — a law
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. rule — government
  20. bass — the fish
  21. season — of the year
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. cold — an illness

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