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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: land · field · season · chair · saw · chest · bay · bound

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. land — ground
  3. land — a country
  4. field — a subject
  5. land — to come down
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. bound — tied together
  8. chair — a leader
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. season — of the year
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. bound — certain
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. field — farmland
  17. chest — of your body
  18. saw — the tool
  19. chest — of your body
  20. saw — the tool
  21. season — in sport
  22. bound — obliged
  23. field — for sport
  24. chest — a box

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