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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: cap · last · bat · calf · season · pitch · stem · land

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. stem — to come from
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. land — a country
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. last — to go on
  9. land — ground
  10. cap — of ice
  11. last — finally
  12. pitch — completely
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. cap — a hat
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. bat — the animal
  19. season — of the year
  20. cap — a lid
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. season — in sport
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. last — final

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