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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. firm — a company
  3. rock — a stone
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. chest — of your body
  6. game — wild animals
  7. chair — a leader
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. hand — in cards
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. pitch — completely
  16. rock — music
  17. tear — from crying
  18. firm — decided
  19. tear — to rip
  20. chest — of your body
  21. hand — help
  22. firm — steady
  23. tear — from crying
  24. chest — a box

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