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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. pitch — completely
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. squash — the sport
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. face — to point toward
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. chip — for betting
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. chip — to eat
  12. pit — a hole
  13. rash — a series
  14. pit — in a race
  15. kid — child
  16. kid — to tease
  17. face — part of the head
  18. squash — to crush
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. chair — a leader
  21. face — to confront
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. rash — on the skin

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