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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: pitch · face · game · clip · cap · date · cue · pit

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. cue — a signal
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. clip — a video
  5. cue — for pool
  6. game — a match
  7. face — part of the head
  8. cap — of ice
  9. pit — a hole
  10. date — the fruit
  11. cap — a hat
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. pit — in a race
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. face — to point toward
  18. clip — to cut
  19. cap — a lid
  20. cue — a hint
  21. game — wild animals
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. face — to confront
  24. pitch — completely

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