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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. hand — in cards
  3. chest — of your body
  4. tear — to rip
  5. pitch — completely
  6. game — wild animals
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. chest — a box
  9. wake — a trail
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. fork — in a road
  12. hand — help
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. tear — from crying
  18. chest — of your body
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. game — a match
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. tear — from crying
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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