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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: pitcher · bound · perch · saw · pitch · race · chair · court

  1. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. court — of a king
  4. race — the arms race
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. saw — the tool
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. race — a contest
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. court — of law
  11. chair — a leader
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. bound — certain
  19. saw — the tool
  20. court — for sport
  21. bound — obliged
  22. perch — the fish
  23. pitch — completely
  24. race — humankind

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