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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: pit · land · stem · mate · bass · season · squash · game

  1. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. season — of the year
  3. pit — in a race
  4. game — a match
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. land — a country
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. pit — a hole
  10. land — ground
  11. bass — the fish
  12. game — wild animals
  13. squash — to crush
  14. squash — the sport
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. mate — a friend
  17. land — to come down
  18. bass — low music
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. stem — to come from
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. mate — a partner
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. mate — to breed

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