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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: pitch · date · race · cold · chip · game · bass · bowl

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  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. cold — an illness
  2. game — wild animals
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. date — the fruit
  5. bass — low music
  6. pitch — completely
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. race — a contest
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. chip — to eat
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. game — a match
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. race — the arms race
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. bass — the fish
  21. cold — not warm
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. race — humankind
  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