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

Word bank: bear · present · chair · pitch · pit · wake

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. bear — the animal
  4. present — there
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. pit — in a race
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. pit — a hole
  11. bear — the animal
  12. wake — a trail
  13. present — a gift
  14. chair — a leader
  15. present — the time now
  16. pitch — completely
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. pitch — a sports field

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