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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: date · stock · mine · pitcher · saw · foot · rush · season

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. rush — hurry
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. saw — the tool
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. season — of the year
  10. stock — shares
  11. stock — goods
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. mine — for digging
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. date — the fruit
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. saw — the tool
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. foot — a measure
  24. season — in sport

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