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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bowl · firm · chip · pitch · ground · race

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. ground — a position
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. firm — a company
  5. chip — to eat
  6. firm — decided
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. pitch — completely
  10. firm — steady
  11. race — the arms race
  12. chip — for betting
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. race — a contest
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. race — humankind
  17. ground — crushed
  18. ground — the earth

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