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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · game · suit · march · snap · rock · pitch · sharp

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. When will it ________________ you to start?
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. march — the month
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. rock — music
  9. march — the month
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. pitch — completely
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. game — a match
  14. chair — a leader
  15. rock — a stone
  16. sharp — clever
  17. suit — in cards
  18. march — music
  19. suit — clothes
  20. game — wild animals
  21. suit — to fit
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. pitch — a sports field

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