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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 · march · wake · cell · pop · kick

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. pop — to visit
  4. cell — in biology
  5. pop — music
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. cell — a phone
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. wake — a trail
  11. kick — in football
  12. pop — soda
  13. march — the month
  14. march — music
  15. march — the month
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. pitch — completely

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