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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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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: cabinet · bowl · row · snap · kick · pitch · perch · chair

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. perch — the fish
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. pitch — completely
  6. snap — to click
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. row — a line
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. chair — a leader
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. row — to paddle
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. kick — in football
  24. kick — with a leg

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