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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: season · chip · bark · bore · cold · craft · net · bass

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. cold — not warm
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. bark — to shout
  6. net — after costs
  7. cold — an illness
  8. season — of the year
  9. chip — to eat
  10. chip — for betting
  11. bass — the fish
  12. bore — to tire
  13. bass — low music
  14. craft — boats
  15. season — in sport
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. bore — to drill
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. craft — a skill
  21. net — for catching
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. net — 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