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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. pitch — completely
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. row — a line
  6. shower — rain
  7. bass — low music
  8. current — happening now
  9. plane — a tool
  10. bass — the fish
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. chair — a leader
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. shower — to wash
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. current — electric
  18. current — of water
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. row — to paddle
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. bat — the animal

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