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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 · pitch · roll · pit · pitcher · cell · bound · pass

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. pit — in a race
  6. cell — in biology
  7. pass — a permit
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. wind — moving air
  10. cell — a phone
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. roll — a cake
  14. pitch — completely
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. bound — obliged
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. wind — moving air
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. bound — certain
  21. bound — tied together
  22. roll — a list
  23. pit — a hole
  24. pass — to succeed

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