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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 stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. mate — to breed
  4. field — farmland
  5. drill — a practice
  6. season — of the year
  7. pit — in a race
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. season — in sport
  10. band — a music group
  11. pit — a hole
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. drill — army training
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. key — for a lock
  17. band — a ring
  18. key — in music
  19. mate — a partner
  20. mate — a friend
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. field — a subject
  23. drill — the tool
  24. key — the most important part

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