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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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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: pitch · fine · chest · fork · pound · field · arm · bat

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. chest — of your body
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. fine — all right
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. fine — high quality
  10. field — farmland
  11. field — a subject
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. fork — in a road
  17. chest — a box
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. pitch — completely
  20. field — for sport
  21. bat — the animal
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. pound — a weight

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