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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: field · face · fine · pitch · spell · chair · march · rock

  1. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. fine — all right
  5. field — a subject
  6. face — part of the head
  7. chair — a leader
  8. field — for sport
  9. face — to confront
  10. rock — music
  11. field — farmland
  12. pitch — completely
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. spell — a short time
  15. spell — magic
  16. march — the month
  17. march — the month
  18. march — music
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. face — to point toward
  21. rock — a stone
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. spell — letters
  24. fine — high quality

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