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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: trunk · sharp · bat · chest · face · pitch · date · mate

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. chest — of your body
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. chest — a box
  5. bat — the animal
  6. face — to confront
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. face — to point toward
  9. date — the fruit
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. mate — a friend
  12. mate — a partner
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. face — part of the head
  15. chest — of your body
  16. sharp — clever
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. mate — to breed
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. pitch — completely
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. trunk — of a car

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