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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 players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. pit — a hole
  4. chest — of your body
  5. kid — to tease
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. rock — music
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. season — in sport
  12. pitch — completely
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. rock — a stone
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. kid — child
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. chest — a box
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. pit — in a race
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. season — of the year
  24. chest — of your body

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