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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. 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. bat — for baseball
  2. pit — in a race
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. swing — in golf
  5. swing — music
  6. field — farmland
  7. swing — to play on
  8. pit — a hole
  9. season — of the year
  10. cap — a hat
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. cap — of ice
  13. cap — a lid
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. season — in sport
  16. field — a subject
  17. bat — the animal
  18. 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