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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. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. race — humankind
  3. pitch — completely
  4. race — the arms race
  5. hand — help
  6. chip — for betting
  7. chest — of your body
  8. hand — in cards
  9. mine — for digging
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. race — a contest
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. season — of the year
  16. chest — a box
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. season — in sport
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. chest — of your body
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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