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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: band · kid · hide · pit · chair · file · chip · pitcher

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. pit — a hole
  3. kid — to tease
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. file — a tool
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. band — a music group
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. file — a document
  12. kid — child
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. file — a line of people
  16. band — a ring
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. chip — for betting
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. chair — a leader
  23. chip — to eat
  24. pit — in a race

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