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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 120 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: pitch · tear · cap · chest · band · wake

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. pitch — completely
  4. tear — to rip
  5. cap — of ice
  6. cap — a lid
  7. band — a ring
  8. wake — a trail
  9. tear — from crying
  10. tear — from crying
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. band — a music group
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. chest — of your body
  16. chest — a box
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. cap — a hat

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