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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: pitch · date · chest · chip · fall · jam · wind · lie

  1. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. chest — of your body
  4. jam — in traffic
  5. chest — a box
  6. chip — to eat
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. pitch — completely
  9. chest — of your body
  10. fall — the season
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. date — the fruit
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. fall — to drop
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. wind — moving air
  18. lie — to recline
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. wind — moving air
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. fall — to drop
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. chip — for betting

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