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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. chest — of your body
  3. rush — hurry
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. field — farmland
  6. bass — low music
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. chest — a box
  9. season — in sport
  10. field — for sport
  11. chair — a leader
  12. bass — the fish
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. pitch — completely
  16. chest — of your body
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. field — a subject
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. trunk — of a tree

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