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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: bark · field · wake · branch · bowl · season · net · rest

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. branch — a division
  5. wake — a trail
  6. rest — what's left
  7. field — a subject
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. field — farmland
  11. bark — to shout
  12. net — after costs
  13. net — for catching
  14. season — in sport
  15. rest — what's left
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. field — for sport
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. net — in sport
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. rest — a break
  24. wake — before a funeral

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