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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 · squash · pitcher · chip · fork · wind · tear · hand

  1. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. wind — moving air
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. hand — help
  5. fork — in a road
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. tear — from crying
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. wind — moving air
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. squash — the sport
  14. chip — for betting
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. tear — to rip
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. hand — in cards
  21. tear — from crying
  22. squash — to crush
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. chip — to eat

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