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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. field — for sport
  5. chip — to eat
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. field — farmland
  9. chest — of your body
  10. cap — of ice
  11. pitch — completely
  12. cap — a hat
  13. mark — a grade
  14. shower — to wash
  15. staff — a stick
  16. staff — employees
  17. mark — a trace
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. chip — for betting
  20. chest — a box
  21. field — a subject
  22. cap — a lid
  23. staff — employees
  24. chest — of your body

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