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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 room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. staff — employees
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. cell — in biology
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. chest — of your body
  7. cell — a phone
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. chest — a box
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. file — a tool
  12. file — a document
  13. chest — of your body
  14. pound — a weight
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. staff — employees
  18. file — a line of people
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. staff — a stick
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. branch — a division
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. pitch — a sports field

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