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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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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 · game · content · lie · face · field · rush · staff

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. staff — employees
  4. pitch — completely
  5. field — for sport
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. field — farmland
  8. field — a subject
  9. face — part of the head
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. face — to point toward
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. game — wild animals
  16. rush — hurry
  17. content — happy
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. staff — a stick
  20. game — a match
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. content — the amount
  23. lie — to recline
  24. staff — employees

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