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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. jam — in traffic
  5. file — a document
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. kick — in football
  10. game — wild animals
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. game — a match
  13. land — a country
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. chair — a leader
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. pass — a permit
  19. file — a line of people
  20. land — ground
  21. pitch — completely
  22. land — to come down
  23. file — a tool
  24. pass — to succeed

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