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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: plane · race · key · pitch · swing · row · chip · mate

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. key — the most important part
  3. mate — a partner
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. mate — a friend
  6. chip — to eat
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. mate — to breed
  9. row — to paddle
  10. swing — in golf
  11. key — in music
  12. key — for a lock
  13. swing — to play on
  14. row — a line
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. plane — a tool
  17. race — humankind
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. race — a contest
  20. chip — for betting
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. swing — music
  23. race — the arms race
  24. pitch — completely

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