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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: ball · suit · chest · land · wave · pass · pitch · content

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. When will it ________________ you to start?
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. land — to come down
  3. suit — in cards
  4. ball — a great time
  5. land — a country
  6. suit — to fit
  7. land — ground
  8. chest — of your body
  9. content — happy
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. pass — a permit
  12. suit — clothes
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. chest — a box
  20. pitch — completely
  21. chest — of your body
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. content — the amount

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