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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: file · cold · kick · root · last · pitch · arm · chip

  1. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. last — to go on
  3. chip — for betting
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. root — of a plant
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. file — a tool
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. last — finally
  12. file — a line of people
  13. cold — an illness
  14. root — the cause
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. chip — to eat
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. cold — not warm
  20. last — final
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. root — of a word
  23. file — a document
  24. kick — in football

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