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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: hide · wound · cap · season · field · staff · chest · spell

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. spell — a short time
  3. chest — a box
  4. staff — employees
  5. season — in sport
  6. field — farmland
  7. season — of the year
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. spell — magic
  11. staff — a stick
  12. cap — of ice
  13. cap — a lid
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. field — a subject
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. wound — an injury
  18. spell — letters
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. wound — an injury
  21. chest — of your body
  22. staff — employees
  23. field — for sport
  24. chest — of your body

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