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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: pitcher · chip · wave · game · court · trunk · cap · ground

  1. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. ground — crushed
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. chip — for betting
  5. cap — a hat
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. cap — a lid
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. ground — a position
  14. court — of a king
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. ground — the earth
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. court — for sport
  19. cap — of ice
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. game — wild animals
  22. court — of law
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. game — a match

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