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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: date · race · game · kick · field · pitcher · season · foot

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. kick — in football
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. season — in sport
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. field — farmland
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. game — a match
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. foot — a measure
  12. field — a subject
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. race — humankind
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. field — for sport
  18. date — the fruit
  19. game — wild animals
  20. race — the arms race
  21. season — of the year
  22. race — a contest
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. pitcher — a jug

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