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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: season · bat · mate · pound · root · spell · ball · field

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. field — farmland
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. pound — a weight
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. ball — a great time
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. mate — a partner
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. mate — a friend
  12. bat — the animal
  13. root — of a word
  14. field — for sport
  15. root — the cause
  16. spell — letters
  17. ball — a dance
  18. root — of a plant
  19. spell — magic
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. season — in sport
  22. field — a subject
  23. spell — a short time
  24. mate — to breed

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