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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: wound · staff · chip · tear · pitch · mine · press · stick

  1. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. mine — for digging
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. staff — employees
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. staff — a stick
  8. tear — from crying
  9. chip — for betting
  10. press — to push
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. pitch — completely
  13. tear — to rip
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. wound — an injury
  16. staff — employees
  17. tear — from crying
  18. press — newspapers
  19. wound — an injury
  20. press — a publisher
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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