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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: bat · leaves · season · pitch · race · club · racket · land

  1. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. race — a contest
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. club — for golf
  6. land — a country
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. club — for dancing
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. pitch — completely
  14. bat — the animal
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. club — a group
  17. race — the arms race
  18. land — to come down
  19. season — in sport
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. race — humankind
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. season — of the year
  24. land — ground

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