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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: toast · pitch · mug · chest · kid · wind

  1. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. 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. mug — a face
  2. mug — a cup
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. kid — to tease
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. mug — to rob
  8. wind — moving air
  9. chest — of your body
  10. wind — moving air
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. kid — child
  13. toast — bread
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. pitch — completely
  16. chest — a box
  17. chest — of your body
  18. 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