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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 players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. wound — an injury
  3. pitch — completely
  4. chest — of your body
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. toast — bread
  9. chest — a box
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. cap — a lid
  12. cap — of ice
  13. file — a line of people
  14. chest — of your body
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. wound — an injury
  17. bass — low music
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. bass — the fish
  20. cap — a hat
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. file — a tool
  23. file — a document
  24. toast — the most admired

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