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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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Word bank
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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: chest · pitch · stick · race · mate · mine

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. mate — a partner
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. mate — to breed
  5. chest — of your body
  6. race — the arms race
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. chest — of your body
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. race — humankind
  11. mate — a friend
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. mine — for digging
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. race — a contest
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. pitch — completely

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