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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: season · pitch · press · snap · pit · wind · face · hide

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. face — to point toward
  6. season — in sport
  7. snap — to click
  8. press — a publisher
  9. pit — a hole
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. face — part of the head
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. pit — in a race
  14. season — of the year
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. face — to confront
  17. wind — moving air
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. press — newspapers
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. pitch — completely
  22. wind — moving air
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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