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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: content · bat · chest · shower · net · pitch · trunk · rock

  1. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. chest — of your body
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. net — for catching
  5. bat — the animal
  6. pitch — completely
  7. shower — rain
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. net — after costs
  11. rock — a stone
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. chest — of your body
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. shower — to wash
  16. net — in sport
  17. rock — music
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. content — the amount
  20. content — happy
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. chest — a box
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. rock — to move gently

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