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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: kick · chair · rule · last · pitch · chest

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. rule — government
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. pitch — completely
  6. chair — a leader
  7. rule — a law
  8. chest — of your body
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. last — final
  11. chest — a box
  12. last — to go on
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. chest — of your body
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. kick — in football

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