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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: race · chip · file · kid · current · pitch · stem · bat

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. file — a tool
  3. current — happening now
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. bat — the animal
  7. chip — to eat
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. race — the arms race
  10. current — electric
  11. file — a line of people
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. stem — to come from
  15. pitch — completely
  16. file — a document
  17. race — humankind
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. kid — to tease
  22. current — of water
  23. chip — for betting
  24. race — a contest

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