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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.

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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. chip — for betting
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. pitch — completely
  10. cold — not warm
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. pass — a permit
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. shower — rain
  15. clip — for paper
  16. clip — to cut
  17. chip — to eat
  18. clip — a video
  19. bark — to shout
  20. shower — to wash
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. cold — an illness
  24. pass — to spend time

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