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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. chair — a leader
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. game — wild animals
  7. pitch — completely
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. mate — a partner
  10. kid — child
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. game — a match
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. mate — a friend
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. perch — the fish
  19. kid — to tease
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. mate — to breed
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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