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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: date · cue · face · season · pitch · stand · game · spring

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. face — to confront
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. face — part of the head
  5. season — in sport
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. cue — for pool
  8. stand — to bear
  9. spring — of water
  10. spring — a coil
  11. season — of the year
  12. pitch — completely
  13. spring — the season
  14. cue — a hint
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. face — to point toward
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. cue — a signal
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. game — a match
  23. date — the fruit
  24. date — on the calendar

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