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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: racket · spell · pitch · race · chest · chair

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. chest — of your body
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. pitch — completely
  6. spell — magic
  7. race — a contest
  8. chest — of your body
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. chest — a box
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. spell — a short time
  15. race — humankind
  16. chair — a leader
  17. race — the arms race
  18. spell — letters

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