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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: club · pit · last · chest · lean · pitch · arm · spring

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. last — final
  3. chest — a box
  4. pit — in a race
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. last — finally
  8. pit — a hole
  9. spring — of water
  10. pitch — completely
  11. chest — of your body
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. last — to go on
  14. club — a group
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. lean — to bend
  17. lean — thin
  18. spring — the season
  19. chest — of your body
  20. club — for dancing
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. club — for golf
  23. spring — a coil
  24. pitch — a sports field

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