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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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Word bank
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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: wound · chip · suit · hide · pitch · file · leaves · degree

  1. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. When will it ________________ you to start?
  3. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. suit — to fit
  3. suit — in cards
  4. degree — temperature
  5. file — a tool
  6. degree — an amount
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. wound — an injury
  13. wound — an injury
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. chip — for betting
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. degree — from a university
  18. file — a document
  19. suit — clothes
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. file — a line of people
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. pitch — completely

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