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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: pitch · spring · object · toast · stick · clip · saw · chest

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. chest — a box
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. toast — bread
  7. saw — the tool
  8. spring — a coil
  9. object — a thing
  10. chest — of your body
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. clip — to cut
  13. object — to protest
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. clip — for paper
  16. saw — the tool
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. clip — a video
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. chest — of your body
  21. object — an aim
  22. spring — of water
  23. pitch — completely
  24. spring — the season

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