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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: bark · wind · pass · rest · row · pitch · chair · band

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. band — a ring
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. rest — what's left
  5. chair — a leader
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. wind — moving air
  9. row — a line
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. rest — a break
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. row — to paddle
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. pitch — completely
  17. rest — what's left
  18. bark — to shout
  19. band — a music group
  20. wind — moving air
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. pass — a permit
  24. chair — to sit on

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