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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. chip — to eat
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. chip — for betting
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. cap — of ice
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. cap — a hat
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. dip — to sink
  17. pitch — completely
  18. cap — a lid
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. vault — a safe
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. row — a line
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. row — to paddle

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