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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.

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: straw · land · hand · pitch · chair · wave · game · cue

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. game — a match
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. cue — for pool
  7. hand — help
  8. land — ground
  9. cue — a hint
  10. game — wild animals
  11. chair — a leader
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. cue — a signal
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. land — a country
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. land — to come down
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. hand — in cards
  24. pitch — completely

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