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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · kick · spring · pitch · capital · shower · fan · snap

  1. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  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. pitch — completely
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. kick — in football
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. capital — money
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. season — of the year
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. shower — to wash
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. snap — to click
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. spring — a coil
  17. spring — the season
  18. shower — rain
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. spring — of water
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. capital — a city
  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