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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: track · bulb · chest · clip · lash · pitch

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. chest — of your body
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. bulb — for light
  5. track — to keep track
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. track — a path
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. bulb — for light
  10. track — a song
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. chest — of your body
  13. chest — a box
  14. clip — for paper
  15. clip — to cut
  16. clip — a video
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. pitch — completely

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