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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: fall · chair · jam · foot · drill · pitch · straw · race

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. drill — army training
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. drill — the tool
  7. fall — the season
  8. pitch — completely
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. fall — to drop
  11. chair — a leader
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. jam — a tight spot
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. race — the arms race
  20. drill — a practice
  21. foot — a measure
  22. race — humankind
  23. race — a contest
  24. foot — the bottom

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