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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  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. coach — a trainer
  2. pitch — completely
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. scale — in music
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. chair — a leader
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. hand — help
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. bat — the animal
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. kick — in football
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. scale — size or range
  18. hand — in cards
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. kick — with a leg
  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