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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 116 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: pitch · chair · key · spring · bowl · coach · season · field

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. key — for a lock
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. pitch — completely
  8. chair — a leader
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. key — the most important part
  12. spring — of water
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. field — for sport
  16. key — in music
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. spring — the season
  19. spring — a coil
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. season — of the year
  22. field — a subject
  23. season — in sport
  24. field — farmland

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