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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: cold · mate · charge · season · file · pit · hide · field

  1. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — in control
  2. mate — to breed
  3. mate — a friend
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. season — in sport
  6. pit — in a race
  7. charge — a price
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. season — of the year
  10. file — a document
  11. pit — a hole
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. charge — electricity
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. cold — an illness
  16. file — a line of people
  17. field — farmland
  18. field — for sport
  19. file — a tool
  20. cold — not warm
  21. mate — a partner
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. field — a subject

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