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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: bowl · season · sharp · pitch · spell · rush · calf · mine

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. season — of the year
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. sharp — clever
  10. pitch — completely
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. spell — magic
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. spell — a short time
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. mine — for digging
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. season — in sport
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. spell — letters
  24. sharp — with an edge

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