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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. swing — music
  3. mate — to breed
  4. chair — a leader
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. mate — a friend
  7. pitch — completely
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. kid — to tease
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. fall — the season
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. swing — to play on
  18. swing — in golf
  19. kid — child
  20. ball — a dance
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. fall — to drop
  23. ball — a great time
  24. fall — to drop

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