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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. fall — to drop
  3. chair — a leader
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. fall — the season
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. kid — child
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. net — after costs
  11. ball — a great time
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. fine — high quality
  14. band — a music group
  15. net — in sport
  16. net — for catching
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. band — a ring
  19. kid — to tease
  20. fall — to drop
  21. fine — all right
  22. pitch — completely
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. ball — a dance

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