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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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Word bank
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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 · mine · land

  1. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. season — of the year
  4. face — part of the head
  5. face — to confront
  6. field — farmland
  7. mark — a grade
  8. chair — a leader
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. club — a group
  11. field — a subject
  12. field — for sport
  13. land — ground
  14. club — for golf
  15. land — a country
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. land — to come down
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. face — to point toward
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. mark — a trace
  23. club — for dancing
  24. mine — for digging

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