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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 · cabinet · scale · wind · pitch · lie · land · bound

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. scale — in music
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. lie — to recline
  6. chest — of your body
  7. bound — certain
  8. wind — moving air
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. scale — size or range
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. chest — of your body
  14. bound — tied together
  15. land — ground
  16. land — to come down
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. bound — obliged
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. wind — moving air
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. pitch — completely
  24. chest — a box

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