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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. present — there
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. file — a line of people
  9. swing — music
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. snap — to click
  13. chair — a leader
  14. swing — in golf
  15. chip — to eat
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. pitch — completely
  18. present — a gift
  19. present — the time now
  20. file — a document
  21. file — a tool
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. chip — for betting

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