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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: track · pitch · chair · kid · trunk · file · net · lie

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. kid — to tease
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. track — a song
  8. file — a tool
  9. file — a document
  10. file — a line of people
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. kid — child
  13. net — for catching
  14. chair — a leader
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. track — to keep track
  18. net — after costs
  19. lie — to recline
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. pitch — completely
  24. net — in sport

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