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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 ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. date — the fruit
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. chest — a box
  5. cell — a phone
  6. spell — a short time
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. chest — of your body
  11. rush — hurry
  12. band — a ring
  13. spell — letters
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. pitch — completely
  19. cell — in biology
  20. chest — of your body
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. band — a music group
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. spell — magic

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