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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: roll · cap · pitch · lash · bat · chest

  1. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. cap — of ice
  3. chest — a box
  4. cap — a lid
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. chest — of your body
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. roll — a list
  13. chest — of your body
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. cap — a hat
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. bat — the animal
  18. roll — a cake

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