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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. rash — hasty
  5. chip — to eat
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. land — a country
  8. land — to come down
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. band — a ring
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. land — ground
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. march — music
  16. march — the month
  17. march — the month
  18. rash — a series
  19. chip — for betting
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. pitch — completely
  23. band — a music group
  24. arm — part of the 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