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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: cell · pitch · chest · field · leaves · wave

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. chest — a box
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. field — a subject
  7. chest — of your body
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. pitch — completely
  11. cell — a phone
  12. field — for sport
  13. cell — in biology
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. chest — of your body
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. field — farmland
  18. pitch — a sports field

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