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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: toast · ball · bound · cap · season · pitcher · clip · field

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. clip — to cut
  5. season — in sport
  6. ball — a dance
  7. clip — a video
  8. clip — for paper
  9. ball — a great time
  10. cap — of ice
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. bound — certain
  15. cap — a lid
  16. bound — obliged
  17. bound — tied together
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. field — a subject
  20. season — of the year
  21. field — farmland
  22. toast — bread
  23. cap — a hat
  24. field — for sport

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