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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: mate · season · wind · bear · field · chair · stock · pitch

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. wind — moving air
  3. stock — goods
  4. season — in sport
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. chair — a leader
  7. mate — a partner
  8. mate — to breed
  9. field — farmland
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. pitch — completely
  14. field — for sport
  15. season — of the year
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. bear — the animal
  19. field — a subject
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. stock — shares
  23. bear — the animal
  24. wind — moving air

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