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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 116 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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. field — for sport
  3. last — final
  4. club — for golf
  5. last — to go on
  6. bank — for money
  7. last — finally
  8. club — for dancing
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. face — to point toward
  11. pitch — completely
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. perch — the fish
  15. season — in sport
  16. bank — for money
  17. season — of the year
  18. field — a subject
  19. bank — of a river
  20. face — to confront
  21. field — farmland
  22. club — a group
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. face — part of the head

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