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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: pitch · row · sharp · kick · cell · face · net · bay

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. net — for catching
  3. cell — a phone
  4. face — to point toward
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. row — a line
  7. sharp — clever
  8. face — to confront
  9. kick — in football
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. pitch — completely
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. net — in sport
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. net — after costs
  19. row — to paddle
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. cell — in biology
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. face — part of the head
  24. row — a quarrel

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