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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. pitch — completely
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. race — humankind
  6. race — a contest
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. file — a document
  9. mate — a friend
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. mate — to breed
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. deal — to handle
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. shower — rain
  16. chip — for betting
  17. file — a line of people
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. file — a tool
  20. race — the arms race
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. shower — to wash
  23. chip — to eat
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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