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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 · key · chair · race · shower · march

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. shower — to wash
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. race — a contest
  6. pitch — completely
  7. key — the most important part
  8. march — music
  9. shower — rain
  10. key — in music
  11. race — humankind
  12. march — the month
  13. chair — a leader
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. key — for a lock
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. race — the arms race
  18. chair — a professorship

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