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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: pop · kid · chest · bass · face · pitch · row · jam

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. jam — in traffic
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. face — to point toward
  5. chest — of your body
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. row — to paddle
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. bass — the fish
  10. pop — soda
  11. chest — a box
  12. row — a line
  13. chest — of your body
  14. face — to confront
  15. jam — to spread on bread
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. face — part of the head
  18. kid — child
  19. pitch — completely
  20. pop — music
  21. pop — to visit
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. bass — low music
  24. row — a quarrel

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