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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: track · sharp · season · row · jam · pitch · kid · ground

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. row — a line
  5. season — of the year
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. ground — crushed
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. kid — to tease
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. track — a path
  13. track — a song
  14. ground — a position
  15. season — in sport
  16. ground — the earth
  17. pitch — completely
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. jam — a tight spot
  20. sharp — clever
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. track — to keep track
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. row — to paddle

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