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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. last — finally
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. cold — an illness
  5. chair — a leader
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. content — happy
  9. pitch — completely
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. cold — not warm
  15. content — the amount
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. last — to go on
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. foot — a measure
  24. last — final

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