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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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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: dip · chair · cell · court · lean · tear · pitch · stand

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. tear — to rip
  4. tear — from crying
  5. pitch — completely
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. court — of law
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. cell — in biology
  10. cell — a phone
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. stand — to bear
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. tear — from crying
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. chair — a leader
  17. lean — thin
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. court — of a king
  22. lean — to bend
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. dip — to sink

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