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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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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: mate · pitch · bat · date · kick · land · kid · bowl

  1. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. mate — a partner
  10. kid — child
  11. pitch — completely
  12. land — ground
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. land — to come down
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. kid — to tease
  19. land — a country
  20. date — the fruit
  21. mate — to breed
  22. bat — the animal
  23. mate — a friend
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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