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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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Word bank
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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: bore · tube · lie · chair · march · pitcher · pitch · suit

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. When will it ________________ you to start?
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. suit — in cards
  5. bore — to drill
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. march — music
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. march — the month
  14. tube — the underground
  15. bore — to tire
  16. suit — clothes
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. chair — a leader
  20. lie — to recline
  21. march — the month
  22. pitch — completely
  23. suit — to fit
  24. tube — a container

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