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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: chest · wave · chip · mine · jam · pitch · cap · hide

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. chest — a box
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. jam — in traffic
  6. mine — for digging
  7. cap — a lid
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. pitch — completely
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. cap — of ice
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. chip — to eat
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. chest — of your body
  21. chip — for betting
  22. chest — of your body
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. cap — a hat

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