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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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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: tear · wave · chair · straw · last · pass · pitch · march

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. pitch — completely
  4. march — the month
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. march — the month
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. tear — from crying
  13. last — finally
  14. tear — to rip
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. tear — from crying
  17. march — music
  18. pass — a permit
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. last — to go on
  22. last — final
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. straw — dry grass

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