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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 · bat · chair · wave · suit · field · current · wound

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. When will it ________________ you to start?
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. field — farmland
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. season — in sport
  5. current — happening now
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. suit — to fit
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. suit — in cards
  12. chair — a leader
  13. field — for sport
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. suit — clothes
  16. wound — an injury
  17. season — of the year
  18. current — of water
  19. bat — the animal
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. current — electric
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. wound — an injury

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