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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 ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. march — music
  4. chip — to eat
  5. march — the month
  6. chip — for betting
  7. content — happy
  8. pitch — completely
  9. net — for catching
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. row — to paddle
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. row — a line
  18. march — the month
  19. net — after costs
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. net — in sport
  22. content — the amount
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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