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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. spell — magic
  3. chest — a box
  4. lean — to bend
  5. march — the month
  6. swing — to play on
  7. swing — in golf
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. chest — of your body
  10. swing — music
  11. game — wild animals
  12. pitch — completely
  13. march — the month
  14. game — a match
  15. march — music
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. spell — letters
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. spell — a short time
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. lean — thin
  23. chest — of your body
  24. temple — a place of worship

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