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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.

Make a worksheet

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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. game — wild animals
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. file — a line of people
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. chip — for betting
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. pitch — completely
  10. file — a tool
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. dip — to sink
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. snap — to click
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. chip — to eat
  17. file — a document
  18. snap — to snap out of it

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