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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · spell · bowl · cap · bark · snap · last · game

  1. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. cap — a lid
  3. snap — to click
  4. last — final
  5. game — a match
  6. last — finally
  7. game — wild animals
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. season — of the year
  12. last — to go on
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. spell — letters
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. bark — to shout
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. cap — a hat
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. spell — magic
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. season — in sport
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. cap — of ice

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