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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 room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  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. pitch — completely
  2. kick — in football
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. hand — help
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. cue — a signal
  8. chest — of your body
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. fall — to drop
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. chest — of your body
  13. fall — the season
  14. cue — a hint
  15. band — a music group
  16. hand — in cards
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. fall — to drop
  20. fork — in a road
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. band — a ring
  23. cue — for pool
  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