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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: last · chair · row · leaves · pass · pitcher · pound · race

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. chair — a leader
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. race — humankind
  5. pound — a weight
  6. last — to go on
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. last — finally
  9. race — a contest
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. pass — a permit
  13. race — the arms race
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. row — to paddle
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. row — a line
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. last — final

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