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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: row · content · sharp · chest · coach · staff · pitch · wind

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. row — a line
  3. pitch — completely
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. staff — a stick
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. chest — a box
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. chest — of your body
  12. chest — of your body
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. staff — employees
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. sharp — clever
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. content — happy
  19. staff — employees
  20. wind — moving air
  21. content — the amount
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. row — to paddle
  24. sharp — exactly

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