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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. game — a match
  4. cell — a phone
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. can — a tin
  7. game — wild animals
  8. chip — for betting
  9. cell — in biology
  10. can — to be able to
  11. wake — a trail
  12. chip — to eat
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. can — a tin
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. pitch — completely
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. wake — to stop sleeping

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