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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 120 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. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. chest — of your body
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. clip — for paper
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. firm — a company
  8. stock — goods
  9. firm — steady
  10. pitch — completely
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. chest — of your body
  13. clip — to cut
  14. stock — shares
  15. chest — a box
  16. firm — decided
  17. clip — a video
  18. pitch — a sports field

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