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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 · mark · spring · stock · pitch · mate · hand · leaves

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. mate — a partner
  3. hand — help
  4. mate — a friend
  5. stock — goods
  6. stock — shares
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. mate — to breed
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. hand — in cards
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. spring — a coil
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. mark — a trace
  18. season — in sport
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. mark — a grade
  21. season — of the year
  22. spring — the season
  23. pitch — completely
  24. spring — of water

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