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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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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: track · fan · wake · chest · mine · band · pitch · hide

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. pitch — completely
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. track — to keep track
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. chest — of your body
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. band — a ring
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. track — a song
  18. track — a path
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. mine — for digging
  21. wake — a trail
  22. chest — of your body
  23. chest — a box
  24. band — a music group

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