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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: cue · last · season · hand · scale · pitch · shower · jam

  1. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. last — finally
  3. scale — in music
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. cue — for pool
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. jam — in traffic
  10. last — to go on
  11. hand — in cards
  12. cue — a signal
  13. shower — rain
  14. jam — a tight spot
  15. scale — size or range
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. shower — to wash
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. season — of the year
  21. hand — help
  22. pitch — completely
  23. season — in sport
  24. last — final

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