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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. fine — high quality
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. field — for sport
  5. ground — the earth
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. ground — crushed
  8. fine — all right
  9. file — a tool
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. file — a line of people
  12. charge — electricity
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. charge — in control
  15. season — in sport
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. field — a subject
  18. ground — a position
  19. charge — a price
  20. perch — the fish
  21. file — a document
  22. plane — a tool
  23. field — farmland
  24. plane — an aircraft

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