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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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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: file · pitch · object · game · chest · arm · rest · shower

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. shower — to wash
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. file — a document
  7. chest — of your body
  8. object — an aim
  9. file — a tool
  10. game — wild animals
  11. object — a thing
  12. chest — a box
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. object — to protest
  16. game — a match
  17. rest — a break
  18. pitch — completely
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. rest — what's left
  22. file — a line of people
  23. rest — what's left
  24. shower — rain

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