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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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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: chair · wind · toast · pitch · board · game · trunk · last

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. board — a committee
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. last — finally
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. toast — bread
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. pitch — completely
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. game — a match
  18. last — final
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. wind — moving air
  21. last — to go on
  22. chair — a leader
  23. board — to get on
  24. game — wild animals

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