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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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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: lean · patient · pitch · march · squash · can · chest · stick

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. chest — of your body
  3. squash — the sport
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. can — a tin
  6. can — a tin
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. squash — to crush
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. march — the month
  13. pitch — completely
  14. lean — thin
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. march — music
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. can — to be able to
  21. chest — a box
  22. lean — to bend
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. march — the month

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