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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: face · chest · safe · sharp · game · pitch · straw · pop

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. pop — to visit
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. game — a match
  7. chest — of your body
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. pitch — completely
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. game — wild animals
  12. sharp — clever
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. face — part of the head
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. face — to confront
  17. chest — of your body
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. safe — a strongbox
  21. pop — soda
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. pop — music
  24. face — to point toward

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