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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: pitch · hide · content · chest · staff · arm · rash · date

  1. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. staff — employees
  4. staff — a stick
  5. content — happy
  6. content — the amount
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. rash — hasty
  9. chest — of your body
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. rash — a series
  14. staff — employees
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. pitch — completely
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. date — the fruit
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. chest — a box
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. chest — of your body

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