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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: straw · snap · court · rash · pitch · board · chest · bear

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. chest — a box
  4. board — to get on
  5. bear — the animal
  6. court — for sport
  7. board — a committee
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. rash — a series
  10. rash — hasty
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. chest — of your body
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. snap — to click
  17. court — of a king
  18. bear — the animal
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. court — of law
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. chest — of your body
  23. pitch — completely
  24. rash — on the skin

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