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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. present — there
  3. season — of the year
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. chest — of your body
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. branch — a division
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. chest — a box
  12. spring — a coil
  13. spring — the season
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. bulb — for light
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. bulb — for light
  19. pitch — completely
  20. present — a gift
  21. spring — of water
  22. chest — of your body
  23. present — the time now
  24. season — in 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