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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: tear · pitch · ground · toast · chest · pass

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  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. toast — bread
  2. chest — of your body
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. pass — a permit
  5. ground — a position
  6. ground — crushed
  7. chest — of your body
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. tear — from crying
  10. chest — a box
  11. tear — to rip
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. pitch — completely
  16. tear — from crying
  17. ground — the earth
  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