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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. pitch — completely
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. present — there
  6. chest — of your body
  7. chest — of your body
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. branch — a division
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. game — wild animals
  12. pit — in a race
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. present — a gift
  15. swing — to play on
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. swing — in golf
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. present — the time now
  20. swing — music
  21. pit — a hole
  22. chest — a box
  23. game — a match
  24. branch — of a bank

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