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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. swing — music
  3. net — for catching
  4. current — happening now
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. current — electric
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. swing — to play on
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. pitch — completely
  14. current — of water
  15. swing — in golf
  16. chip — for betting
  17. net — in sport
  18. stand — to bear
  19. net — after costs
  20. mine — for digging
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. chair — a leader
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. chip — to eat

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