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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: pass · board · pitch · present · cold · last · roll · bass

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. present — a gift
  3. last — final
  4. bass — the fish
  5. cold — an illness
  6. board — a committee
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. cold — not warm
  11. pass — a permit
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. roll — a cake
  16. board — to get on
  17. present — there
  18. present — the time now
  19. bass — low music
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. last — finally
  23. pitch — completely
  24. roll — a list

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