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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 120 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 · snap · kid · lie · spell · fork · tear · pitch

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. lie — to recline
  4. pitch — completely
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. fork — in a road
  7. tear — to rip
  8. spell — letters
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. chest — a box
  13. snap — to click
  14. chest — of your body
  15. tear — from crying
  16. spell — a short time
  17. spell — magic
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. kid — to tease
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. kid — child
  22. tear — from crying
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. pitch — a sports field

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