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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: pitcher · chip · cold · can · toast · tear · racket · court

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. can — a tin
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. tear — to rip
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. cold — an illness
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. toast — bread
  10. chip — to eat
  11. court — of law
  12. tear — from crying
  13. can — to be able to
  14. can — a tin
  15. tear — from crying
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. chip — for betting
  21. court — of a king
  22. court — for sport
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. pitcher — a jug

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