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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: pitch · lie · toast · chest · bark · bat · bowl · tube

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. lie — to recline
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. pitch — completely
  5. bark — to shout
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. tube — the underground
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. toast — bread
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. chest — of your body
  17. chest — a box
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. bat — the animal
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. tube — a container

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