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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 · drill · jam · chair · field · perch · bowl · wind

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. chair — a leader
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. wind — moving air
  5. drill — army training
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. drill — the tool
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. drill — a practice
  13. field — farmland
  14. perch — the fish
  15. field — for sport
  16. field — a subject
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. jam — to spread on bread
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. pitch — completely
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. wind — to turn a key

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