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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 · swing · face · pitch · pitcher · nail · arm · rash

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. content — happy
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. face — to confront
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. face — to point toward
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. face — part of the head
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. rash — hasty
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. content — the amount
  17. rash — a series
  18. swing — in golf
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. swing — to play on
  22. swing — music
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. pitch — completely

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