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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: pit · pop · bound · squash · kid · spell · season · field

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. kid — child
  3. bound — tied together
  4. spell — letters
  5. pit — a hole
  6. pop — soda
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. field — a subject
  9. kid — to tease
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. field — for sport
  13. squash — to crush
  14. spell — magic
  15. pop — music
  16. spell — a short time
  17. bound — certain
  18. pit — in a race
  19. season — of the year
  20. bound — obliged
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. season — in sport
  23. pop — to visit
  24. squash — the 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