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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 116 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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  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. rock — to move gently
  2. chair — a leader
  3. bat — the animal
  4. rock — a stone
  5. kick — in football
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. rock — music
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. wound — an injury
  17. pitch — completely
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. wound — an injury
  20. shower — rain
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. shower — to wash
  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