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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: band · clip · arm · pitch · date · chair · bat · stick

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  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. arm — part of the body
  2. stick — to attach or keep to
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. pitch — completely
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. chair — a leader
  8. date — the fruit
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. clip — for paper
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. clip — to cut
  15. band — a ring
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. bat — the animal
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. clip — a video
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. band — a music group
  23. arm — a part of something
  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