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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. hand — help
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. rock — music
  5. rock — a stone
  6. plane — a tool
  7. pop — to visit
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. row — to paddle
  10. chair — a leader
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. pop — soda
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. pitch — completely
  17. pop — music
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. hand — in cards
  24. row — a line

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