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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. chest — of your body
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. pass — a permit
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. bat — the animal
  11. spell — letters
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. kid — to tease
  14. spell — a short time
  15. pitch — completely
  16. kick — in football
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. spell — magic
  21. chest — a box
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. kid — child
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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