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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: field · chest · press · mine · safe · perch · pit · season

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Is it ________________ for us to be here?

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. pit — in a race
  3. chest — of your body
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. pit — a hole
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. perch — the fish
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. season — of the year
  10. mine — for digging
  11. chest — a box
  12. chest — of your body
  13. safe — a strongbox
  14. press — a publisher
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. field — a subject
  18. press — newspapers
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. season — in sport
  21. field — farmland
  22. press — to push
  23. field — for sport
  24. safe — out of danger

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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