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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: sharp · season · field · saw · court · bat · press · track

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. field — farmland
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. track — a path
  5. season — of the year
  6. sharp — clever
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. press — a publisher
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. season — in sport
  11. bat — the animal
  12. saw — the tool
  13. press — to push
  14. saw — the tool
  15. field — for sport
  16. press — newspapers
  17. court — of a king
  18. track — to keep track
  19. track — a song
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. field — a subject
  23. court — of law
  24. bat — in an idiom

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