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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: cap · game · season · spell · press · band · drill · pit

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. spell — magic
  4. band — a ring
  5. cap — of ice
  6. press — to push
  7. press — a publisher
  8. spell — a short time
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. drill — army training
  11. pit — a hole
  12. season — in sport
  13. drill — a practice
  14. game — a match
  15. pit — in a race
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. cap — a lid
  18. cap — a hat
  19. drill — the tool
  20. band — a music group
  21. game — wild animals
  22. press — newspapers
  23. spell — letters
  24. season — to add flavour

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