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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: bear · plane · ground · chest · pitch · rash · kid · dip

  1. The ________________ took off on time.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. bear — the animal
  3. chest — of your body
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. kid — to tease
  6. kid — child
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. rash — hasty
  11. dip — to sink
  12. chest — of your body
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. ground — the earth
  15. bear — the animal
  16. ground — crushed
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. chest — a box
  19. rash — a series
  20. ground — a position
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. plane — a tool
  23. pitch — completely
  24. pitch — a sports field

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