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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: bound · stick · game · coach · chip · pitcher · bat · present

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. chip — to eat
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. present — there
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. bound — obliged
  15. bat — the animal
  16. present — the time now
  17. game — wild animals
  18. bound — tied together
  19. bound — certain
  20. present — a gift
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. chip — for betting
  23. game — a match
  24. bat — in an idiom

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