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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 ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. pitch — completely
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. chest — of your body
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. kick — in football
  7. chest — of your body
  8. chest — a box
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. file — a document
  18. fork — in a road
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. net — after costs
  21. net — for catching
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. file — a tool
  24. file — a line of people

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