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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 · track · wound · chest · kid · mark · calf · press

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. wound — an injury
  3. mark — a trace
  4. press — a publisher
  5. track — to keep track
  6. kid — to tease
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. pitch — completely
  9. press — to push
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. mark — a grade
  13. press — newspapers
  14. wound — an injury
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. kid — child
  19. chest — of your body
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. track — a path
  23. chest — of your body
  24. track — a song

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