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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: ground · hand · vault · mate · chest · nail · pitch · toast

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. ground — the earth
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. chest — of your body
  6. hand — help
  7. toast — bread
  8. mate — a friend
  9. vault — a safe
  10. mate — to breed
  11. mate — a partner
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. hand — in cards
  14. chest — a box
  15. pitch — completely
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. ground — a position
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. chest — of your body
  24. toast — the most admired

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