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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. chip — to eat
  4. present — the time now
  5. pitch — completely
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. snap — to click
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. file — a document
  11. present — a gift
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. file — a tool
  14. dip — to sink
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. bore — to drill
  17. present — there
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. file — a line of people
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. game — a match
  22. game — wild animals
  23. chip — for betting
  24. game — a kind of play

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