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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: chest · can · tear · straw · land · club · ruler · pitch

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. can — a tin
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. tear — from crying
  5. land — to come down
  6. tear — from crying
  7. land — ground
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. can — a tin
  10. pitch — completely
  11. club — for dancing
  12. club — a group
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. land — a country
  16. club — for golf
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. chest — of your body
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. chest — a box
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. can — to be able to
  24. tear — to rip

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