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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 120 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: pit · bat · swing · spell · cold · coach · bark · chip

  1. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. cold — an illness
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. bark — to shout
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. spell — magic
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. bat — the animal
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. pit — in a race
  11. spell — a short time
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. swing — music
  14. swing — in golf
  15. pit — a hole
  16. swing — to play on
  17. chip — to eat
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. cold — not warm
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. spell — letters
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. coach — a trainer

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