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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.

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 · hide · ground · land · bark · craft · last · pop

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. land — to come down
  3. ground — a position
  4. pop — to visit
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. land — ground
  7. last — finally
  8. pop — soda
  9. craft — a skill
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. season — in sport
  12. craft — boats
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. bark — to shout
  15. pop — music
  16. last — to go on
  17. land — a country
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. season — of the year
  21. ground — the earth
  22. last — final
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. hide — to keep secret

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