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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 120 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: shower · chair · pound · pitch · stick · plane · bay · cap

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. shower — to wash
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. plane — a tool
  9. chair — a leader
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. pitch — completely
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. cap — of ice
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. cap — a lid
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. shower — rain
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. pound — a weight
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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