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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: bat · foot · season · fan · charge · field · club · kid

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. field — for sport
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. field — farmland
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. charge — electricity
  10. charge — a price
  11. kid — to tease
  12. season — in sport
  13. club — for dancing
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. club — a group
  16. club — for golf
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. charge — in control
  21. bat — the animal
  22. foot — a measure
  23. field — a subject
  24. kid — child

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