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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
468
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: root · sharp · pitch · cell · leaves · saw · rash · chair

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. rash — hasty
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. pitch — completely
  7. sharp — clever
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. root — of a plant
  12. rash — a series
  13. root — the cause
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. root — of a word
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. chair — a leader
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. saw — the tool
  20. saw — the tool
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. cell — in biology
  24. cell — a phone

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