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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 potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. season — of the year
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. bound — tied together
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. chip — for betting
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. bound — certain
  11. wind — moving air
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. track — to keep track
  15. pound — a weight
  16. season — in sport
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. bound — obliged
  19. track — a song
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. track — a path
  22. pitch — completely
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. bowl — a dish

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