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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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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: last · mouse · pitch · club · wake · cell · sharp · chest

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. last — final
  3. cell — a phone
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. club — a group
  6. chest — a box
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. club — for dancing
  10. wake — a trail
  11. chest — of your body
  12. pitch — completely
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. club — for golf
  15. last — to go on
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. chest — of your body
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. sharp — clever
  21. last — finally
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. cell — in biology

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