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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. roll — a list
  4. field — for sport
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. chest — a box
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. field — a subject
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. roll — a cake
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. bass — the fish
  15. pitch — completely
  16. field — farmland
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. chest — of your body
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. bat — the animal
  24. bass — low music

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