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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: march · leaves · land · stock · pitch · roll · pound · face

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. face — part of the head
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. face — to point toward
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. pound — a weight
  8. roll — a list
  9. face — to confront
  10. stock — goods
  11. roll — a cake
  12. stock — shares
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. march — music
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. land — ground
  18. pitch — completely
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. land — a country
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. march — the month
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. land — to come down

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