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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 · chest · drill · cell · mate · pitch · mug · hide

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. mate — a friend
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. chest — of your body
  7. mug — to rob
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. chest — of your body
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. chest — a box
  13. drill — the tool
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. mate — a partner
  16. drill — army training
  17. mate — to breed
  18. mug — a face
  19. drill — a practice
  20. mug — a cup
  21. cell — in biology
  22. cell — a phone
  23. pitch — completely
  24. cell — in a prison

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