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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: pitch · net · file · tube · season · last · staff · bowl

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. season — in sport
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. file — a document
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. staff — employees
  8. last — final
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. season — of the year
  11. net — after costs
  12. net — for catching
  13. file — a tool
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. last — finally
  16. pitch — completely
  17. staff — a stick
  18. tube — a container
  19. file — a line of people
  20. net — in sport
  21. last — to go on
  22. tube — the underground
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. staff — employees

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