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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: ground · field · row · bat · pit · leaves · season · cabinet

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. pit — in a race
  4. pit — a hole
  5. field — a subject
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. season — in sport
  10. row — to paddle
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. field — farmland
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. ground — a position
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. ground — crushed
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. bat — the animal
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. season — of the year
  21. field — for sport
  22. row — a line
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. ground — the earth

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