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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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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 · land · content · pit · pitch · saw · snap · kick

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. pit — a hole
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. pit — in a race
  7. saw — the tool
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. land — to come down
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. snap — to click
  13. land — a country
  14. face — to point toward
  15. content — the amount
  16. pitch — completely
  17. face — part of the head
  18. content — happy
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. saw — the tool
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. face — to confront
  23. kick — in football
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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