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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 116 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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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: face · pitch · board · bear · last · pit · clip · march

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. pit — a hole
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. march — the month
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. board — to get on
  7. last — final
  8. face — to confront
  9. pit — in a race
  10. march — the month
  11. clip — to cut
  12. board — a committee
  13. clip — for paper
  14. clip — a video
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. last — to go on
  17. face — part of the head
  18. bear — the animal
  19. last — finally
  20. march — music
  21. bear — the animal
  22. pitch — completely
  23. face — to point toward
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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