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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: bass · pitch · march · mark · lean · land · ground · mate

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. bass — low music
  3. lean — thin
  4. land — ground
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. mate — to breed
  7. land — a country
  8. mark — a trace
  9. march — music
  10. mate — a friend
  11. ground — a position
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. pitch — completely
  14. ground — the earth
  15. march — the month
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. bass — the fish
  19. mate — a partner
  20. mark — a grade
  21. land — to come down
  22. ground — crushed
  23. lean — to bend
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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