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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. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  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. pitch — a sales talk
  3. chest — of your body
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. pound — a weight
  6. chest — a box
  7. club — for golf
  8. ground — a position
  9. kid — to tease
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. ground — crushed
  13. club — for dancing
  14. kid — child
  15. club — a group
  16. chest — of your body
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. scale — size or range
  20. scale — in music
  21. ground — the earth
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. pound — to hit hard
  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