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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 120 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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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 · pitch · press · snap · pit · wind

  1. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. snap — to click
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. pit — a hole
  8. season — of the year
  9. wind — moving air
  10. pit — in a race
  11. press — to push
  12. wind — moving air
  13. pitch — completely
  14. press — a publisher
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. press — newspapers

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