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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: pitch · stem · rest · press · march · clip

  1. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. march — music
  3. march — the month
  4. rest — a break
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. stem — to come from
  7. rest — what's left
  8. clip — for paper
  9. rest — what's left
  10. clip — a video
  11. press — a publisher
  12. press — newspapers
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. clip — to cut
  16. press — to push
  17. march — the month
  18. stem — of a plant

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