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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. wound — an injury
  3. cap — a hat
  4. field — for sport
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. field — farmland
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. board — to get on
  12. wound — an injury
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. cap — of ice
  15. rock — music
  16. cap — a lid
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. field — a subject
  19. board — a committee
  20. vault — a safe
  21. rock — a stone
  22. season — in sport
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. season — to add flavour

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