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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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. stand — for spectators
  3. land — to come down
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. stand — to bear
  6. rock — music
  7. face — part of the head
  8. chest — of your body
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. land — a country
  11. bark — to shout
  12. face — to confront
  13. chest — a box
  14. land — ground
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. pitch — completely
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. face — to point toward
  23. chest — of your body
  24. rock — a stone

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