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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: ground · chest · chip · bore · straw · court · pitch · wake

  1. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. wake — a trail
  4. bore — to tire
  5. court — of law
  6. bore — to drill
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. chip — to eat
  9. ground — the earth
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. ground — crushed
  12. chip — for betting
  13. chest — of your body
  14. court — for sport
  15. chest — a box
  16. pitch — completely
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. ground — a position
  21. chest — of your body
  22. court — of a king
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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