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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: net · cold · vault · chest · pitch · present

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. chest — a box
  4. chest — of your body
  5. cold — not warm
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. present — a gift
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. net — for catching
  10. cold — an illness
  11. net — after costs
  12. present — there
  13. vault — a safe
  14. present — the time now
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. pitch — completely
  18. net — in sport

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