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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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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. field — farmland
  4. season — of the year
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. field — for sport
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. chip — to eat
  10. spring — a coil
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. spring — the season
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. spring — of water
  15. band — a music group
  16. field — a subject
  17. pitch — completely
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. chip — for betting
  20. band — a ring
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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