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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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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: race · fine · pitch · pit · press · fork · mark · pitcher

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. race — humankind
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. press — a publisher
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. fork — in a road
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. pit — a hole
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. race — a contest
  12. mark — a trace
  13. mark — a grade
  14. pit — in a race
  15. fine — all right
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. fine — high quality
  20. press — newspapers
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. race — the arms race
  23. pitch — completely
  24. fork — to eat with

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