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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: chest · rule · pitch · fork · board · row

  1. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. rule — government
  4. board — a committee
  5. chest — of your body
  6. row — to paddle
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. fork — in a road
  10. rule — a law
  11. board — to get on
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. row — a line
  15. chest — of your body
  16. chest — a box
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. fork — to eat with

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