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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: band · mine · saw · snap · season · pitch · foot · roll

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. roll — a list
  6. pitch — completely
  7. band — a ring
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. roll — a cake
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. snap — to click
  12. saw — the tool
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. mine — for digging
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. saw — the tool
  21. foot — a measure
  22. season — in sport
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. band — a music group

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