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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: season · land · fine · coach · mark · pitch · snap · trunk

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. season — in sport
  6. season — of the year
  7. land — ground
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. pitch — completely
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. snap — to click
  12. land — a country
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. mark — a grade
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. fine — all right
  19. mark — a trace
  20. fine — high quality
  21. land — to come down
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. trunk — of a tree

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