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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 · club · stem · pitcher · roll · fork · pitch · wax

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. fork — in a road
  7. club — for dancing
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. pitch — completely
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. wax — to grow
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. chair — a leader
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. roll — a list
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. stem — to come from
  19. club — a group
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. roll — a cake
  24. fork — a garden tool

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