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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: bank · pit · temple · land · date · pitch · march · straw

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. bank — for money
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. bank — for money
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. pit — in a race
  7. land — ground
  8. march — the month
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. land — a country
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. bank — of a river
  18. march — the month
  19. pitch — completely
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. march — music
  22. pit — a hole
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. date — the fruit

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