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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 players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. track — to keep track
  5. shower — rain
  6. chest — of your body
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. shower — to wash
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. net — in sport
  11. net — for catching
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. foot — a measure
  16. chest — a box
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. plane — a tool
  20. net — after costs
  21. chest — of your body
  22. track — a path
  23. track — a song
  24. pitch — completely

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