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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. chest — of your body
  5. spell — magic
  6. shower — rain
  7. spell — a short time
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. ground — crushed
  10. pitch — completely
  11. pit — in a race
  12. shower — to wash
  13. ground — a position
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. chest — of your body
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. spell — letters
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. track — to keep track
  20. track — a song
  21. track — a path
  22. pit — a hole
  23. ground — the earth
  24. wake — a trail

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