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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: pit · chest · spring · ground · content · board · pitch · root

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. chest — of your body
  3. pit — in a race
  4. root — the cause
  5. ground — crushed
  6. ground — the earth
  7. chest — a box
  8. board — a committee
  9. chest — of your body
  10. content — happy
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. pitch — completely
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. spring — the season
  15. root — of a word
  16. board — to get on
  17. root — of a plant
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. content — the amount
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. spring — of water
  23. spring — a coil
  24. pit — a hole

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