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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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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: face · pit · capital · stem · tear · snap · pitch · current

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. snap — to click
  3. face — to point toward
  4. face — to confront
  5. current — electric
  6. capital — money
  7. tear — from crying
  8. capital — a city
  9. current — of water
  10. tear — to rip
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. pitch — completely
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. current — happening now
  16. stem — to come from
  17. tear — from crying
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. pit — a hole
  21. face — part of the head
  22. pit — in a race
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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