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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: pit · arm · rash · wake · trunk · chest · pitch · clip

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. rash — a series
  3. clip — to cut
  4. rash — hasty
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. pit — in a race
  8. pit — a hole
  9. chest — of your body
  10. clip — for paper
  11. pitch — completely
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. clip — a video
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. chest — of your body
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. chest — a box
  20. wake — a trail
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. arm — a part of something

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