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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: pitch · arm · pit · last · wound · plane · game · date

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. pit — a hole
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. last — finally
  6. pit — in a race
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. game — wild animals
  10. wound — an injury
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. plane — a tool
  13. wound — an injury
  14. pitch — completely
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. game — a match
  17. last — to go on
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. date — the fruit
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. arm — part of the body

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