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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 116 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: mine · cabinet · swing · kid · saw · march · pitch · chair

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. march — the month
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. kid — child
  7. kid — to tease
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. march — music
  10. saw — the tool
  11. mine — for digging
  12. swing — to play on
  13. swing — music
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. chair — a leader
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. swing — in golf
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. pitch — completely
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. march — the month
  23. saw — the tool
  24. mine — an explosive

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