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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 was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. field — farmland
  3. season — of the year
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. chest — of your body
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. season — in sport
  9. bulb — for light
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. chest — of your body
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. field — for sport
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. chest — a box
  21. ball — a dance
  22. field — a subject
  23. bulb — for light
  24. bulb — of a plant

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