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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: mine · pop · deal · shower · pitch · band · season · mark

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  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. shower — a meteor shower
  2. season — of the year
  3. band — a ring
  4. pop — to visit
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. shower — rain
  7. mine — for digging
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. shower — to wash
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. mark — a trace
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. mark — a grade
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. pop — music
  17. deal — to handle
  18. pop — soda
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. season — in sport
  21. band — a music group
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. pitch — completely
  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