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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. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. cell — a phone
  4. chip — to eat
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. rock — a stone
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. rock — music
  9. kid — child
  10. bark — to shout
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. pop — to visit
  13. chip — for betting
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. kid — to tease
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. pitch — completely
  21. pop — music
  22. cell — in biology
  23. pop — soda
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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