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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
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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 · field · bat · spell · coach · season · cap · band

  1. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. season — of the year
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. band — a music group
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. spell — magic
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. field — a subject
  11. field — farmland
  12. cap — a hat
  13. band — a ring
  14. field — for sport
  15. spell — letters
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. cap — a lid
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. spell — a short time
  21. cap — of ice
  22. pit — in a race
  23. bat — the animal
  24. season — in 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