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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 · bound · club · chest · bear · kid · press · hide

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. bound — certain
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. press — a publisher
  5. bear — the animal
  6. club — a group
  7. bear — the animal
  8. bound — tied together
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. press — to push
  11. kid — to tease
  12. pitch — completely
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. chest — a box
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. chest — of your body
  19. chest — of your body
  20. press — newspapers
  21. bound — obliged
  22. club — for golf
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. club — for dancing

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