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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: chest · pitch · cell · hand · bear · wave · pop · sharp

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. chest — of your body
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. cell — in biology
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. pitch — completely
  7. hand — in cards
  8. chest — a box
  9. bear — the animal
  10. pop — to visit
  11. hand — help
  12. bear — the animal
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. cell — a phone
  15. pop — music
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. sharp — clever
  21. pop — soda
  22. chest — of your body
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. wave — of the sea

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