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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. row — a line
  3. row — to paddle
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. bound — tied together
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. game — a match
  10. game — wild animals
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. pass — a permit
  13. bound — certain
  14. bound — obliged
  15. bat — the animal
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. shower — to wash
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. pitch — completely
  23. chair — a leader
  24. shower — rain

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