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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. capital — money
  3. chest — of your body
  4. chest — of your body
  5. content — the amount
  6. bound — certain
  7. object — an aim
  8. content — happy
  9. chest — a box
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. pitch — completely
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. bound — obliged
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. track — to keep track
  17. object — to protest
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. object — a thing
  20. track — a song
  21. capital — a city
  22. bound — tied together
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. track — a path

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