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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 120 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: rush · deal · chair · fall · pitch · wake · cell · row

  1. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. chair — a leader
  3. cell — in biology
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. fall — to drop
  7. row — a line
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. deal — to handle
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. rush — hurry
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. pitch — completely
  18. fall — the season
  19. cell — a phone
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. fall — to drop
  24. wake — a trail

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