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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.

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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 · cap · hide · saw · snap · pit · racket · pound

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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. pit — a hole
  4. saw — the tool
  5. snap — to click
  6. pit — in a race
  7. cap — a lid
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. chest — a box
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. cap — a hat
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. pound — a weight
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. chest — of your body
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. saw — the tool
  23. cap — of ice
  24. hide — to keep secret

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