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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: pitcher · march · hand · face · clip · kick · trunk · pit

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. march — the month
  3. pit — in a race
  4. face — to confront
  5. hand — in cards
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. hand — help
  9. pit — a hole
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. march — the month
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. face — to point toward
  14. march — music
  15. clip — for paper
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. clip — to cut
  19. kick — in football
  20. clip — a video
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. face — part of the head
  24. pitcher — a jug

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