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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: march · season · jam · chair · clip · drill · pitch · pit

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. march — music
  3. march — the month
  4. drill — a practice
  5. jam — in traffic
  6. season — in sport
  7. drill — army training
  8. pit — a hole
  9. clip — to cut
  10. chair — a leader
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. pitch — completely
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. drill — the tool
  18. clip — for paper
  19. season — of the year
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. pit — in a race
  24. march — the month

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