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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: tube · pitch · bat · cabinet · chest · kid · race · fine

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. kid — child
  6. pitch — completely
  7. tube — a container
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. chest — a box
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. race — the arms race
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. bat — the animal
  15. chest — of your body
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. race — a contest
  19. fine — all right
  20. tube — the underground
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. race — humankind
  23. fine — high quality
  24. kid — to tease

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