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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 120 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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. saw — the tool
  6. snap — to click
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. saw — the tool
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. scale — size or range
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. scale — in music
  17. chair — a leader
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. staff — employees
  20. sharp — clever
  21. pitch — completely
  22. staff — employees
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. staff — a stick

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