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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 116 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 · chip · rest · present · cold · kid · prune · swing

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. swing — music
  3. pitch — completely
  4. cold — not warm
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. prune — to trim
  7. cold — an illness
  8. present — a gift
  9. chip — for betting
  10. present — the time now
  11. kid — to tease
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. swing — to play on
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. kid — child
  16. prune — to trim
  17. rest — what's left
  18. rest — a break
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. present — there
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. swing — in golf
  23. chip — to eat
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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