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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: cap · fork · tear · pitch · court · chest

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. pitch — completely
  3. court — of law
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. court — for sport
  6. fork — in a road
  7. cap — a lid
  8. chest — of your body
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. cap — of ice
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. chest — a box
  13. tear — from crying
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. tear — to rip
  16. cap — a hat
  17. tear — from crying
  18. court — of a king

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