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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.

Make a worksheet

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
468
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 · fan · march · patient · race · pitcher · pitch · vault

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. race — a contest
  3. pitch — completely
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. vault — a safe
  10. march — music
  11. season — in sport
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. season — of the year
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. march — the month
  20. march — the month
  21. race — the arms race
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. race — humankind

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