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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. chest — of your body
  3. chest — a box
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. cell — a phone
  6. pitch — completely
  7. tear — to rip
  8. clip — for paper
  9. tear — from crying
  10. cap — of ice
  11. cap — a hat
  12. clip — a video
  13. chest — of your body
  14. foot — a measure
  15. mate — a friend
  16. mate — to breed
  17. clip — to cut
  18. cell — in biology
  19. cap — a lid
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. mate — a partner
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. tear — from crying
  24. cell — in a prison

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