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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: wake · chair · pitch · hand · vault · cap · kick · stick

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. chair — a leader
  6. cap — a hat
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. hand — help
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. pitch — completely
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. cap — a lid
  18. wake — a trail
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. kick — in football
  21. vault — a safe
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. hand — in cards
  24. cap — of ice

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