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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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Word bank
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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: pitch · bay · chest · pitcher · chair · prune

  1. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a part of the sea
  2. chest — of your body
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. chair — a leader
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. prune — to trim
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. chest — of your body
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. pitch — completely
  17. prune — to trim
  18. chest — a box

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