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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: face · cold · bay · season · last · pitch · drill · jam

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. season — in sport
  5. face — to point toward
  6. last — finally
  7. drill — a practice
  8. drill — army training
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. last — to go on
  13. face — to confront
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. drill — the tool
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. face — part of the head
  20. last — final
  21. cold — not warm
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. cold — an illness
  24. pitch — completely

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