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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: chip · cap · file · pitch · season · calf · bat · spring

  1. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. pitch — completely
  5. file — a line of people
  6. season — of the year
  7. season — in sport
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. cap — a hat
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. spring — the season
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. bat — the animal
  15. file — a tool
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. chip — to eat
  19. cap — a lid
  20. cap — of ice
  21. file — a document
  22. spring — a coil
  23. spring — of water
  24. chip — for betting

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