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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 120 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: squash · pitch · season · mine · kick · spring · cabinet · last

  1. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. mine — for digging
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. spring — of water
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. last — to go on
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. last — finally
  10. season — of the year
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. squash — to crush
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. kick — in football
  15. spring — a coil
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. pitch — completely
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. squash — the sport
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. last — final
  23. spring — the season
  24. pitch — a sports field

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