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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: chair · mark · jam · straw · pitch · land · field · arm

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Tom got himself in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. mark — a trace
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. chair — a leader
  7. land — to come down
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. mark — a grade
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. land — a country
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. field — farmland
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. pitch — completely
  17. field — for sport
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. field — a subject
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. land — ground
  24. jam — a tight spot

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