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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. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. field — a subject
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. season — in sport
  5. season — of the year
  6. bass — low music
  7. field — for sport
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. chair — a leader
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. land — ground
  13. bass — the fish
  14. stock — shares
  15. land — a country
  16. stock — goods
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. field — farmland
  22. pitch — completely
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. land — to come down

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