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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. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. chair — a leader
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. clip — for paper
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. root — the cause
  9. clip — a video
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. tube — the underground
  14. root — of a plant
  15. root — of a word
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. tube — a container
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. bat — the animal
  21. shower — rain
  22. shower — to wash
  23. clip — to cut
  24. pitch — a sports field

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