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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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. hand — in cards
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. hand — help
  7. kick — in football
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. chip — for betting
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. pitch — completely
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. wind — moving air
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. wind — moving air
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. chip — to eat
  24. kick — a thrill

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