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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: season · stand · cap · hand · fine · mug · pitch · spell

  1. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. fine — high quality
  3. pitch — completely
  4. cap — of ice
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. cap — a hat
  8. cap — a lid
  9. mug — a face
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. hand — in cards
  12. season — in sport
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. mug — to rob
  15. spell — a short time
  16. hand — help
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. mug — a cup
  19. stand — to bear
  20. season — of the year
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. spell — letters
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. spell — magic

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