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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. pit — a hole
  8. pitch — completely
  9. last — to go on
  10. prune — to trim
  11. row — to paddle
  12. chair — a leader
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. last — final
  15. scale — in music
  16. scale — size or range
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. last — finally
  19. pit — in a race
  20. prune — to trim
  21. row — a line
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. prune — the fruit

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