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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. chest — of your body
  3. swing — to play on
  4. chest — of your body
  5. charge — electricity
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. prune — to trim
  8. wind — moving air
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. mark — a trace
  11. mark — a grade
  12. pitch — completely
  13. date — the fruit
  14. swing — in golf
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. charge — in control
  17. swing — music
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. chest — a box
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. charge — a price
  23. wind — moving air
  24. prune — to trim

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