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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 players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. chip — for betting
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. chip — to eat
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. race — humankind
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. bat — the animal
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. snap — to click
  17. pitch — completely
  18. race — a contest
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. race — the arms race
  21. wake — a trail
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. bat — in an idiom

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