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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: hand · kick · board · pound · season · game · pit · date

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. season — of the year
  4. pit — a hole
  5. game — wild animals
  6. hand — help
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. pound — a weight
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. pit — in a race
  12. season — in sport
  13. kick — in football
  14. hand — in cards
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. board — a committee
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. date — the fruit
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. board — to get on
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. pound — to hit hard

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