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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 120 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.

Make a worksheet

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: pitch · game · fine · craft · ruler · land · bat · chair

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. land — to come down
  3. craft — a skill
  4. fine — high quality
  5. chair — a leader
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. game — wild animals
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. bat — the animal
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. fine — all right
  13. pitch — completely
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. land — ground
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. land — a country
  24. craft — boats

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