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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. chip — to eat
  3. pitch — completely
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. land — to come down
  9. land — ground
  10. rush — hurry
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. band — a ring
  14. chip — for betting
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. land — a country
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. bat — the animal
  24. calf — a young animal

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