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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 · field · fan · safe · bat · court · pitch · perch

  1. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. season — in sport
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. field — a subject
  6. bat — the animal
  7. season — of the year
  8. field — for sport
  9. court — of law
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. field — farmland
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. court — of a king
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. pitch — completely
  20. court — for sport
  21. perch — the fish
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. pitch — a sports field

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