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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: chair · pitch · stock · wind · safe · chest · band · swing

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. swing — to play on
  3. band — a ring
  4. stock — goods
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. swing — in golf
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. swing — music
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. stock — shares
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. safe — a strongbox
  13. chair — a leader
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. chest — a box
  16. band — a music group
  17. wind — moving air
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. pitch — completely
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. chest — of your body
  22. wind — moving air
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. wind — to turn a key

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