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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
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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: season · fan · rush · pitcher · pit · spring · game · pound

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. game — a match
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. rush — hurry
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. game — wild animals
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. pit — a hole
  10. spring — the season
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. pound — a weight
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. pit — in a race
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. spring — a coil
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. season — of the year
  19. spring — of water
  20. season — in sport
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. fan — a supporter

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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