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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: pitch · chest · chip · spell · mate · bat · cabinet · squash

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. chip — to eat
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. chest — of your body
  6. squash — to crush
  7. bat — the animal
  8. mate — to breed
  9. spell — magic
  10. mate — a partner
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. spell — letters
  13. mate — a friend
  14. chip — for betting
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. pitch — completely
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. chest — of your body
  19. spell — a short time
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. chest — a box
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. cabinet — ministers

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