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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: pitch · degree · band · march · drill · fine · face · date

  1. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. band — a music group
  5. march — the month
  6. degree — an amount
  7. drill — army training
  8. march — the month
  9. face — to point toward
  10. drill — a practice
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. drill — the tool
  13. band — a ring
  14. march — music
  15. degree — temperature
  16. fine — high quality
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. face — to confront
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. degree — from a university
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. fine — all right
  23. face — part of the head
  24. pitch — completely

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