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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: march · pitch · net · fall · bass · jam · lie · press

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. march — the month
  5. lie — to recline
  6. press — to push
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. pitch — completely
  9. bass — low music
  10. press — newspapers
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. fall — the season
  13. march — music
  14. net — after costs
  15. bass — the fish
  16. fall — to drop
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. fall — to drop
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. jam — to spread on bread
  21. press — a publisher
  22. net — for catching
  23. net — in sport
  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