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

Word bank: chip · club · foot · pitch · press · wind · mouse · pitcher

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. press — a publisher
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. foot — a measure
  6. wind — moving air
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. club — for golf
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. chip — for betting
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. chip — to eat
  17. press — newspapers
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. pitch — completely
  20. press — to push
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. wind — moving air
  24. club — a group

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