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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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468
Word bank
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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 was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. tube — the underground
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. chest — of your body
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. pound — a weight
  13. rash — a series
  14. chest — of your body
  15. pass — a permit
  16. pitch — completely
  17. kid — child
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. rash — hasty
  22. tube — a container
  23. kid — to tease
  24. chest — a box

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