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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: pitch · kick · cabinet · chip · fall · craft · content · cold

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. pitch — completely
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. craft — a skill
  5. chip — to eat
  6. fall — the season
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. fall — to drop
  11. content — happy
  12. kick — in football
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. craft — boats
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. fall — to drop
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. chip — for betting
  20. content — the amount
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. cold — an illness
  24. content — videos and posts

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