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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. chest — of your body
  3. last — to go on
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. kick — in football
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. can — a tin
  9. can — a tin
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. capital — money
  13. can — to be able to
  14. perch — the fish
  15. pitch — completely
  16. capital — a city
  17. last — finally
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. chest — a box
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. last — final
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. kick — a thrill

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