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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. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. pit — in a race
  3. pit — a hole
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. ground — the earth
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. land — to come down
  9. bass — low music
  10. bass — the fish
  11. land — ground
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. ground — crushed
  14. land — a country
  15. chest — of your body
  16. rest — a break
  17. ground — a position
  18. chest — a box
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. pitch — completely
  21. rest — what's left
  22. rest — what's left
  23. kick — in football
  24. bass — the instrument

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