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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 116 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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. tear — from crying
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. branch — a division
  12. court — for sport
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. chair — a leader
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. stem — to come from
  19. tear — from crying
  20. court — of law
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. tear — to rip
  23. pitch — completely
  24. court — of a king

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