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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: safe · pitch · bulb · court · season · stem · bore · pitcher

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. bore — to drill
  3. court — of a king
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. season — of the year
  8. bulb — for light
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. bore — to tire
  14. court — of law
  15. pitch — completely
  16. court — for sport
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. bulb — for light
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. season — in sport
  23. safe — a strongbox
  24. stem — to come from

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