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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. kid — child
  3. roll — a cake
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. pitch — completely
  6. club — for golf
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. club — a group
  9. race — humankind
  10. wind — moving air
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. chair — a leader
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. roll — a list
  15. chip — to eat
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. race — a contest
  20. chip — for betting
  21. club — for dancing
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. race — the arms race
  24. wind — moving air

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