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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. chip — to eat
  4. cell — in biology
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. chip — for betting
  7. cell — a phone
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. row — a line
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. row — to paddle
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. pitch — completely
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. kick — in football

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