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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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468
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 · jam · mate · cell · field · present · perch · ground

  1. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. mate — to breed
  3. present — the time now
  4. ground — the earth
  5. cell — in biology
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. ground — crushed
  8. present — there
  9. perch — the fish
  10. field — farmland
  11. field — a subject
  12. present — a gift
  13. mate — a partner
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. field — for sport
  16. season — in sport
  17. mate — a friend
  18. ground — a position
  19. season — of the year
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. cell — a phone
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. jam — a tight spot
  24. perch — for a bird

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