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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: field · stem · bowl · pound · fall · can · sharp · season

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. fall — the season
  3. field — farmland
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. season — of the year
  6. can — a tin
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. fall — to drop
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. sharp — clever
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. stem — to come from
  15. fall — to drop
  16. can — to be able to
  17. field — a subject
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. pound — a weight
  20. can — a tin
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. field — for sport
  24. season — in 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