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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: cap · wind · chair · trunk · race · pitch

  1. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wind — moving air
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. race — humankind
  7. cap — a lid
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. cap — of ice
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. chair — a leader
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. race — the arms race
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. cap — a hat
  17. race — a contest
  18. chair — to sit on

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