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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: chip · rest · cold · bore · present · pitch · bass · bat

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. bore — to tire
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. chip — to eat
  5. present — the time now
  6. rest — what's left
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. bass — low music
  11. bat — the animal
  12. rest — what's left
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. bass — the fish
  15. pitch — completely
  16. cold — an illness
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. bore — to drill
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. chip — for betting
  21. present — a gift
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. rest — a break
  24. cold — not warm

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