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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: chair · face · mark · field · season · club

  1. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. 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. mark — a trace
  2. season — of the year
  3. chair — a leader
  4. field — a subject
  5. club — for dancing
  6. club — a group
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. face — to point toward
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. field — farmland
  12. face — to confront
  13. face — part of the head
  14. club — for golf
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. mark — a grade
  17. field — for sport
  18. 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