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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 · mark · capital · tear · kick · chest · plane · fall

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. fall — to drop
  3. fall — to drop
  4. tear — from crying
  5. plane — a tool
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. mark — a trace
  9. mark — a grade
  10. chest — a box
  11. pitch — completely
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. chest — of your body
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. kick — in football
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. capital — money
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. tear — from crying
  21. chest — of your body
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. fall — the season
  24. capital — a city

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