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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: game · scale · tube · season · pitch · pound · race · kick

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. pound — a weight
  5. tube — the underground
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. race — a contest
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. game — wild animals
  10. scale — in music
  11. tube — a container
  12. race — humankind
  13. scale — size or range
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. pitch — completely
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. season — in sport
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. race — the arms race
  23. kick — in football
  24. season — of the year

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