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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.

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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 · last · field · season · chip · bass · kick · land

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. season — in sport
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. chip — to eat
  5. field — a subject
  6. chip — for betting
  7. bass — low music
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. season — of the year
  10. bass — the fish
  11. field — farmland
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. last — final
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. bark — to shout
  16. last — finally
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. kick — in football
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. land — ground
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. land — to come down
  23. last — to go on
  24. field — for 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