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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: pitch · cell · march · chest · calf · mouse · lash · tube

  1. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. 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. tube — a container
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. march — the month
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. tube — the underground
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. march — the month
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. cell — a phone
  14. chest — a box
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. march — music
  19. chest — of your body
  20. chest — of your body
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. cell — in biology
  24. 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