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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: straw · chair · nail · pass · last · shower · pitch · chest

  1. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. chest — of your body
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. pitch — completely
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. shower — rain
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. last — final
  13. chair — a leader
  14. chest — of your body
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. last — to go on
  19. chest — a box
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. shower — to wash
  23. last — finally
  24. nail — on a finger

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