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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
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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: chest · sharp · coach · tear · snap · pitcher · game · fine

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. tear — from crying
  3. snap — to click
  4. sharp — clever
  5. tear — to rip
  6. chest — of your body
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. chest — a box
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. tear — from crying
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. fine — high quality
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. game — a match
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. fine — all right
  23. chest — of your body
  24. coach — a trainer

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