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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. mug — a face
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. chair — a leader
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. plane — a tool
  16. mug — a cup
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. mine — for digging
  19. pitch — completely
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. capital — money
  24. capital — a city

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