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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. net — in sport
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. tube — a container
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. pitch — completely
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. net — after costs
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. pass — a permit
  13. cell — in biology
  14. tube — the underground
  15. net — for catching
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. row — to paddle
  19. chair — a leader
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. row — a line
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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