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

Word bank: snap · rule · pitch · chest · mate · band

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. mate — to breed
  3. mate — a partner
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. rule — government
  6. band — a ring
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. pitch — completely
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. snap — to click
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. chest — a box
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. rule — a law
  15. chest — of your body
  16. band — a music group
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. chest — of your body

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