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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: date · stock · pit · cell · saw · mark · pitch · face

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. cell — a phone
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. saw — the tool
  7. stock — shares
  8. cell — in biology
  9. date — the fruit
  10. stock — goods
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. face — part of the head
  15. mark — a grade
  16. mark — a trace
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. face — to point toward
  19. pit — in a race
  20. pit — a hole
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. pitch — completely
  23. saw — the tool
  24. pitch — a sports field

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