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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: drill · hand · trunk · pop · pit · cell · season · pitch

  1. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. pop — soda
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. pitch — completely
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. pop — music
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. drill — army training
  10. pit — a hole
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. drill — the tool
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. cell — in biology
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. hand — in cards
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. cell — a phone
  20. hand — help
  21. season — of the year
  22. pop — to visit
  23. pit — in a race
  24. drill — a practice

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