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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: face · chest · rule · bound · pit · roll · land · pitch

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. face — part of the head
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. bound — certain
  5. face — to confront
  6. roll — a cake
  7. pitch — completely
  8. land — a country
  9. rule — government
  10. roll — a list
  11. land — ground
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. chest — a box
  15. land — to come down
  16. bound — obliged
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. face — to point toward
  19. pit — a hole
  20. pit — in a race
  21. chest — of your body
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. bound — tied together
  24. rule — a law

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