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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: band · chair · mouse · saw · foot · kid · march · pitch

  1. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — part of the body
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. foot — a measure
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. saw — the tool
  6. kid — to tease
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. pitch — completely
  12. chair — a leader
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. march — the month
  15. kid — child
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. march — the month
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. saw — the tool
  20. march — music
  21. band — a music group
  22. band — a ring
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. pitch — a sports field

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