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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 116 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: pitch · leaves · chip · kid · land · spell · lean · straw

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. kid — to tease
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. chip — to eat
  7. spell — a short time
  8. land — a country
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. chip — for betting
  12. lean — to bend
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. land — to come down
  16. land — ground
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. spell — magic
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. pitch — completely
  22. lean — thin
  23. spell — letters
  24. kid — child

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