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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: land · straw · foot · bore · bat · pitch · fall · chip

  1. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. land — to come down
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. fall — to drop
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. bat — the animal
  10. fall — the season
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. chip — to eat
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. foot — a measure
  17. bore — to drill
  18. fall — to drop
  19. land — a country
  20. pitch — completely
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. bore — to tire
  23. land — ground
  24. foot — the bottom

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