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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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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: season · chest · field · leaves · wound · track · jam · mouse

  1. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. track — a path
  4. field — a subject
  5. season — of the year
  6. track — a song
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. track — to keep track
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. season — in sport
  12. field — for sport
  13. chest — of your body
  14. wound — an injury
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. jam — to spread on bread
  17. wound — an injury
  18. chest — of your body
  19. chest — a box
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. field — farmland

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