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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. kid — to tease
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. season — of the year
  7. swing — to play on
  8. pit — a hole
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. field — a subject
  12. swing — in golf
  13. pass — a permit
  14. season — in sport
  15. branch — a division
  16. swing — music
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. field — farmland
  19. pit — in a race
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. field — for sport

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