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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: rule · season · wound · pitch · land · cap · fan · bound

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. season — in sport
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. cap — a lid
  8. season — of the year
  9. land — a country
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. rule — government
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. rule — a law
  14. wound — an injury
  15. pitch — completely
  16. wound — an injury
  17. land — ground
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. bound — certain
  20. land — to come down
  21. bound — obliged
  22. bound — tied together
  23. cap — of ice
  24. cap — a hat

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