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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: cell · last · row · clip · pitch · leaves · chest · key

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. key — the most important part
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. chest — a box
  5. pitch — completely
  6. clip — a video
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. last — to go on
  12. clip — for paper
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. key — in music
  16. last — finally
  17. row — a line
  18. chest — of your body
  19. row — to paddle
  20. clip — to cut
  21. chest — of your body
  22. last — final
  23. cell — in biology
  24. key — for a lock

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