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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: stick · scale · kid · pitch · chest · cap · land · file

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. file — a tool
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. scale — in music
  6. pitch — completely
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. chest — a box
  10. kid — child
  11. chest — of your body
  12. kid — to tease
  13. cap — a hat
  14. chest — of your body
  15. land — ground
  16. file — a line of people
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. land — a country
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. file — a document
  21. cap — of ice
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. land — to come down
  24. scale — size or range

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