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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: rush · mate · pitch · season · last · wound · band · stand

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. band — a music group
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. last — finally
  7. season — of the year
  8. mate — a friend
  9. wound — an injury
  10. band — a ring
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. wound — an injury
  15. pitch — completely
  16. stand — to bear
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. last — to go on
  19. mate — a partner
  20. mate — to breed
  21. season — in sport
  22. last — final
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. pitch — a sports field

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