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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: season · stem · scale · wound · pitch · tube · date · foot

  1. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. wound — an injury
  4. wound — an injury
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. scale — in music
  7. foot — a measure
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. season — of the year
  10. stem — to come from
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. tube — a container
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. scale — size or range
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. date — the fruit
  22. pitch — completely
  23. tube — the underground
  24. stem — a stem cell

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