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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: mate · patient · chest · file · pitch · spell · stick · lean

  1. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. chest — of your body
  3. spell — magic
  4. file — a line of people
  5. pitch — completely
  6. lean — to bend
  7. spell — letters
  8. lean — thin
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. mate — a friend
  12. spell — a short time
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. chest — of your body
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. file — a tool
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. mate — a partner
  19. mate — to breed
  20. chest — a box
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. file — a document

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