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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's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. object — to protest
  3. mate — a friend
  4. chest — of your body
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. chest — of your body
  7. object — an aim
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. wake — a trail
  10. mate — a partner
  11. spring — a coil
  12. spring — of water
  13. pitch — completely
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. key — for a lock
  17. chest — a box
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. key — the most important part
  20. spring — the season
  21. mate — to breed
  22. bark — to shout
  23. key — in music
  24. object — a thing

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