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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · sharp · cold · pitch · roll · stick · field · mark

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. stick — to attach or keep to
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. field — for sport
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. mark — a trace
  7. season — of the year
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. field — a subject
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. mark — a grade
  12. season — in sport
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. cold — not warm
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. roll — a cake
  19. cold — an illness
  20. pitch — completely
  21. field — farmland
  22. sharp — clever
  23. roll — a list
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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