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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 · file · ball · drill · spell · season · tube · club

  1. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. season — in sport
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. club — for dancing
  6. spell — magic
  7. ball — a great time
  8. spell — a short time
  9. spell — letters
  10. file — a tool
  11. ball — a dance
  12. drill — a practice
  13. file — a document
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. club — for golf
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. drill — army training
  18. tube — the underground
  19. file — a line of people
  20. pitch — completely
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. season — of the year
  23. drill — the tool
  24. club — a group

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