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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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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: press · row · chest · pitch · kid · can · bowl · bat

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. chest — a box
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. row — to paddle
  5. press — to push
  6. can — a tin
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. can — to be able to
  9. kid — child
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. chest — of your body
  13. press — newspapers
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. kid — to tease
  17. pitch — completely
  18. can — a tin
  19. chest — of your body
  20. row — a line
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. bat — the animal
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. press — a publisher

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