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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 · can · fan · pound · wake · season · field · bulb

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. field — farmland
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. can — a tin
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. can — to be able to
  7. season — of the year
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. can — a tin
  11. bulb — for light
  12. field — a subject
  13. bark — to shout
  14. field — for sport
  15. season — in sport
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. pound — a weight
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. bulb — for light
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. wake — a trail

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