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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: object · cell · rule · chest · mate · pitch · field · jam

  1. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — a tight spot
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. chest — of your body
  4. cell — a phone
  5. field — a subject
  6. mate — a partner
  7. object — to protest
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. mate — a friend
  10. chest — of your body
  11. rule — a law
  12. object — a thing
  13. pitch — completely
  14. mate — to breed
  15. field — for sport
  16. rule — government
  17. field — farmland
  18. cell — in biology
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. object — an aim
  21. jam — to spread on bread
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. chest — a box

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