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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: race · club · mate · bat · bowl · field · leaves · season

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. mate — a partner
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. club — a group
  5. field — farmland
  6. club — for golf
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. race — humankind
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. season — in sport
  14. race — the arms race
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. race — a contest
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. season — of the year
  20. field — for sport
  21. bat — the animal
  22. mate — a friend
  23. mate — to breed
  24. club — for dancing

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