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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 116 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: squash · mug · tear · pitch · kick · chair · clip · race

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. mug — a cup
  4. squash — the sport
  5. clip — a video
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. squash — to crush
  10. chair — a leader
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. race — a contest
  13. kick — in football
  14. tear — from crying
  15. tear — to rip
  16. race — the arms race
  17. mug — a face
  18. clip — for paper
  19. clip — to cut
  20. mug — to rob
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. tear — from crying
  23. pitch — completely
  24. race — humankind

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