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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: stem · chair · pitch · drill · mate · pitcher · row · cue

  1. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. chair — a leader
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. stem — to come from
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. mate — a friend
  7. drill — the tool
  8. row — to paddle
  9. drill — a practice
  10. cue — a hint
  11. mate — to breed
  12. pitch — completely
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. row — a line
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. cue — for pool
  21. drill — army training
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. mate — a partner

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