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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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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 · deal · cell · wind · season · stem · present · pitch

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. season — in sport
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. season — of the year
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. wind — moving air
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. pitch — completely
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. deal — to handle
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. stem — to come from
  17. cell — in biology
  18. cell — a phone
  19. wind — moving air
  20. present — a gift
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. present — the time now
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. present — there

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