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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. cue — a signal
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. bat — the animal
  5. cue — a hint
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. scale — size or range
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. mine — for digging
  12. scale — in music
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. tear — from crying
  16. pitch — completely
  17. tube — the underground
  18. tear — from crying
  19. tear — to rip
  20. cue — for pool
  21. chair — a leader
  22. tube — a container
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. bat — in an idiom

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