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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: pitch · staff · arm · spring · sharp · current · chest · pop

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. staff — employees
  3. chest — of your body
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. pop — music
  6. current — electric
  7. sharp — clever
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. chest — a box
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. pop — soda
  12. spring — of water
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. staff — a stick
  16. current — happening now
  17. spring — a coil
  18. pop — to visit
  19. staff — employees
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. spring — the season
  22. pitch — completely
  23. current — of water
  24. chest — of your body

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