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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.

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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: mate · staff · wound · pitch · season · club · wind · bowl

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. club — for golf
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wind — moving air
  5. staff — employees
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. mate — a partner
  8. season — of the year
  9. season — in sport
  10. wound — an injury
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. pitch — completely
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. club — for dancing
  16. wound — an injury
  17. staff — employees
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. mate — a friend
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. staff — a stick
  23. mate — to breed
  24. club — a group

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