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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: pass · fork · tube · snap · chest · net · pitch · face

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. net — in sport
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. face — to confront
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. tube — the underground
  9. pass — a permit
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. chest — a box
  12. fork — in a road
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. face — part of the head
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. chest — of your body
  17. snap — to click
  18. tube — a container
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. pitch — completely
  21. net — for catching
  22. chest — of your body
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. face — to point toward

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