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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 116 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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. rule — a law
  3. row — a line
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. chip — to eat
  6. cold — an illness
  7. cold — not warm
  8. row — to paddle
  9. cell — in biology
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. rock — music
  13. chip — for betting
  14. rule — government
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. cell — a phone
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. rock — a stone
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. pitch — completely

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