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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: mate · field · game · cabinet · season · sharp · band · wind

  1. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. mate — a partner
  3. game — a match
  4. field — for sport
  5. mate — to breed
  6. band — a music group
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wind — moving air
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. season — of the year
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. field — a subject
  14. sharp — clever
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. season — in sport
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. field — farmland
  19. game — wild animals
  20. band — a ring
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. mate — a friend
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. game — a kind of play

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