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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: tear · pitch · bass · chair · row · hand · rest · wake

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. rest — what's left
  3. chair — a leader
  4. wake — a trail
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. hand — help
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. pitch — completely
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. row — a line
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. tear — from crying
  13. hand — in cards
  14. tear — to rip
  15. rest — a break
  16. tear — from crying
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. bass — the fish
  20. row — to paddle
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. rest — what's left
  23. bass — low music
  24. row — a quarrel

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