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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 116 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: rash · pitch · wake · race · chair · march

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. march — the month
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. rash — hasty
  5. pitch — completely
  6. race — a contest
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. wake — a trail
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. chair — a leader
  11. march — the month
  12. march — music
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. race — humankind
  17. race — the arms race
  18. rash — a series

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