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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: cold · suit · bass · march · mine · stick · hide · pitch

  1. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  24. When will it ________________ you to start?

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. march — the month
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. suit — in cards
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. bass — the fish
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. march — the month
  12. bass — low music
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. cold — an illness
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. mine — for digging
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. cold — not warm
  22. march — music
  23. suit — clothes
  24. suit — to fit

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