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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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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: wind · pass · face · snap · pitch · game · field · stand

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. game — a match
  3. face — to confront
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. field — a subject
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. pitch — completely
  9. field — for sport
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. stand — to bear
  12. face — to point toward
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wind — moving air
  16. face — part of the head
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. pass — a permit
  19. field — farmland
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. game — wild animals
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. pitch — a sports field

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