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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: net · pit · pitch · perch · chest · squash · bay · mine

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. chest — of your body
  5. chest — a box
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. mine — for digging
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. net — for catching
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. net — after costs
  13. perch — the fish
  14. squash — to crush
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. pit — in a race
  19. squash — the sport
  20. net — in sport
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. pitch — completely
  24. pit — a hole

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