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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: pitch · march · racket · can · cold · mate · deal · chair

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. can — a tin
  3. chair — a leader
  4. mate — a partner
  5. deal — to handle
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. cold — not warm
  10. can — a tin
  11. can — to be able to
  12. march — the month
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. cold — an illness
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. mate — a friend
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. mate — to breed
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. pitch — completely
  23. march — music
  24. march — the month

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