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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 · land · mark · cold · bulb · field · ground · coach

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. mark — a grade
  4. bulb — for light
  5. land — a country
  6. ground — the earth
  7. mark — a trace
  8. field — farmland
  9. cold — not warm
  10. cold — an illness
  11. field — for sport
  12. season — in sport
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. field — a subject
  16. ground — crushed
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. land — to come down
  20. ground — a position
  21. bulb — for light
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. land — ground
  24. season — of the year

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