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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 120 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: pitcher · last · wake · field · race · club · season · perch

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. season — in sport
  3. wake — a trail
  4. season — of the year
  5. race — a contest
  6. perch — the fish
  7. race — humankind
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. club — for golf
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. race — the arms race
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. last — final
  16. field — farmland
  17. field — a subject
  18. club — a group
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. club — for dancing
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. last — to go on
  23. last — finally
  24. field — for 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