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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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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: board · rush · game · season · spring · field · pitch · present

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. season — in sport
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. present — the time now
  5. game — a match
  6. board — to get on
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. spring — a coil
  9. spring — the season
  10. field — for sport
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. game — wild animals
  13. pitch — completely
  14. season — of the year
  15. board — a committee
  16. rush — hurry
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. field — farmland
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. present — there
  23. present — a gift
  24. field — a subject

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