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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. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. chest — of your body
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. scale — size or range
  5. rest — what's left
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. court — for sport
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. court — of law
  12. court — of a king
  13. rest — what's left
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. rest — a break
  16. chest — of your body
  17. chest — a box
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. pitch — completely
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. scale — in music
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. arm — part of the body

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