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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 116 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: stand · hand · cue · land · season · pitcher · swing · leaves

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. hand — help
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. cue — a hint
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. swing — to play on
  8. swing — in golf
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. stand — to bear
  11. land — ground
  12. hand — in cards
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. land — to come down
  18. swing — music
  19. cue — a signal
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. season — of the year
  22. cue — for pool
  23. land — a country
  24. season — in sport

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