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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · bat · swing · season · chair · branch · last · cap

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. season — of the year
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. swing — to play on
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. bat — the animal
  7. branch — a division
  8. cap — a lid
  9. last — to go on
  10. cap — a hat
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. swing — music
  13. pitch — completely
  14. swing — in golf
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. cap — of ice
  17. last — finally
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. last — final
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. season — in sport
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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