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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. row — a line
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. mine — for digging
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. chip — to eat
  9. content — happy
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. pitch — completely
  16. chip — for betting
  17. content — the amount
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. hand — help
  20. row — to paddle
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. mine — belonging to me

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