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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 120 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: bass · lie · season · kid · field · ground · cap · fine

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. ground — a position
  3. bass — the fish
  4. field — a subject
  5. ground — crushed
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. cap — a hat
  9. fine — high quality
  10. kid — to tease
  11. bass — low music
  12. cap — a lid
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. ground — the earth
  16. fine — all right
  17. season — of the year
  18. season — in sport
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. cap — of ice
  21. field — farmland
  22. field — for sport
  23. lie — to recline
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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