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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: track · last · mug · pitch · race · spring · chest · trunk

  1. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. spring — a coil
  4. chest — a box
  5. pitch — completely
  6. last — to go on
  7. last — finally
  8. mug — a face
  9. race — humankind
  10. race — a contest
  11. mug — a cup
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. race — the arms race
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. spring — the season
  17. track — a path
  18. last — final
  19. chest — of your body
  20. spring — of water
  21. track — to keep track
  22. track — a song
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. chest — of your body

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