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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: pitch · coach · chest · file · bore · snap · bank · rest

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. rest — what's left
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. snap — to click
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. bore — to tire
  7. bank — for money
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. file — a line of people
  11. bore — to drill
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. pitch — completely
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. chest — of your body
  16. file — a document
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. bank — for money
  19. file — a tool
  20. rest — a break
  21. chest — of your body
  22. chest — a box
  23. rest — what's left
  24. bank — of a river

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