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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: pitch · fall · row · arm · chair · hide · leaves · ground

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. chair — a leader
  7. row — a line
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. pitch — completely
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. ground — crushed
  16. fall — to drop
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. ground — the earth
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. ground — a position
  22. fall — the season
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. row — to paddle

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