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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: pitch · date · spring · cell · wound · last · court · safe

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. spring — of water
  5. court — of law
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. court — for sport
  8. pitch — completely
  9. last — final
  10. cell — a phone
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. wound — an injury
  13. last — to go on
  14. cell — in biology
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. date — the fruit
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. wound — an injury
  19. court — of a king
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. safe — a strongbox
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. last — finally
  24. spring — a coil

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