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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. chest — of your body
  3. chest — of your body
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. content — happy
  6. rash — a series
  7. content — the amount
  8. stem — to come from
  9. snap — to click
  10. chest — a box
  11. pitch — completely
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. rash — hasty

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