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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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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 · pitch · chest · rest · wind · stand · field · bay

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. pitch — completely
  3. rest — what's left
  4. chest — of your body
  5. rest — a break
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. field — for sport
  8. stand — to bear
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. chest — a box
  11. wind — moving air
  12. field — a subject
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. season — in sport
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. chest — of your body
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. rest — what's left
  24. field — farmland

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