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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: wind · mine · mate · march · lie · present · pitch · game

  1. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  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. lie — an untruth
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. game — a match
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. march — music
  6. wind — moving air
  7. present — a gift
  8. lie — to recline
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. wind — moving air
  11. mate — a partner
  12. game — wild animals
  13. mate — a friend
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. present — the time now
  17. mate — to breed
  18. pitch — completely
  19. present — there
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. mine — for digging
  22. march — the month
  23. mine — belonging to me
  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