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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.

Make a worksheet

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: coach · season · mine · fan · saw · pitcher · scale · date

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. scale — in music
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. saw — the tool
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. scale — size or range
  18. mine — for digging
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. date — the fruit
  22. season — of the year
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. season — in sport

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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