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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: pitch · key · ground · chest · field · tear · press · trunk

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. chest — of your body
  3. ground — the earth
  4. tear — to rip
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. key — the most important part
  7. tear — from crying
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. ground — a position
  10. pitch — completely
  11. field — farmland
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. press — newspapers
  14. field — for sport
  15. ground — crushed
  16. chest — a box
  17. press — a publisher
  18. chest — of your body
  19. key — in music
  20. key — for a lock
  21. tear — from crying
  22. press — to push
  23. field — a subject
  24. trunk — of a car

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