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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 · mine · bay · band · hide · pound · chest · last

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. chest — of your body
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. last — to go on
  8. pitch — completely
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. chest — of your body
  12. mine — for digging
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. chest — a box
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. band — a ring
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. pound — a weight
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. last — finally
  21. band — a music group
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. last — final

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