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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: suit · snap · row · pitch · race · chair · rash · sharp

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. When will it ________________ you to start?
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. suit — clothes
  5. row — a line
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. suit — in cards
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. race — humankind
  12. race — a contest
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. rash — hasty
  15. row — to paddle
  16. rash — a series
  17. chair — a leader
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. suit — to fit
  20. sharp — clever
  21. snap — to click
  22. race — the arms race
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. pitch — completely

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