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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 · face · craft · pitch · cell · deal · club · track

  1. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. face — to point toward
  5. face — to confront
  6. cell — a phone
  7. pitch — completely
  8. deal — to handle
  9. track — a path
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. club — for golf
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. cell — in biology
  14. craft — boats
  15. chest — of your body
  16. face — part of the head
  17. club — for dancing
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. chest — of your body
  20. chest — a box
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. craft — a skill
  23. club — a group
  24. track — to keep track

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