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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: ball · pitch · clip · season · bound · date · jam · land

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. bound — certain
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. pitch — completely
  6. clip — a video
  7. date — the fruit
  8. land — to come down
  9. clip — for paper
  10. season — of the year
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. land — a country
  14. jam — a tight spot
  15. season — in sport
  16. bound — tied together
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. bound — obliged
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. ball — a dance
  22. clip — to cut
  23. ball — a great time
  24. land — ground

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