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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: squash · pitch · file · spell · lie · row · season · land

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. land — a country
  3. season — of the year
  4. spell — magic
  5. season — in sport
  6. pitch — completely
  7. spell — letters
  8. squash — the sport
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. land — to come down
  11. file — a document
  12. spell — a short time
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. lie — to recline
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. file — a line of people
  18. row — to paddle
  19. squash — to crush
  20. file — a tool
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. row — a line
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. land — ground

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