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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: bat · pitch · stick · cap · mate · fall · kick · chair

  1. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. cap — a lid
  3. cap — a hat
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. mate — to breed
  7. fall — to drop
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. fall — to drop
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. cap — of ice
  17. chair — a leader
  18. kick — in football
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. mate — a partner
  22. mate — a friend
  23. bat — the animal
  24. pitch — completely

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