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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. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. last — final
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. stock — shares
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. season — in sport
  14. pitch — completely
  15. season — of the year
  16. stock — goods
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. kid — to tease
  19. last — finally
  20. kid — child
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. chip — to eat
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. last — to go on

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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