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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: bat · ball · chip · season · last · stem · bank · pitch

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. last — final
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. season — of the year
  5. bank — of a river
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. ball — a dance
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. ball — a great time
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. stem — to come from
  13. chip — to eat
  14. bat — the animal
  15. season — in sport
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. bank — for money
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. last — to go on
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. chip — for betting
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. bank — for money
  24. pitch — completely

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