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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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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: chip · pitcher · last · game · board · sharp · trunk · chest

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. last — to go on
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. board — to get on
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. last — finally
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. chest — of your body
  11. chest — of your body
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. sharp — clever
  16. board — a committee
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. chip — to eat
  19. game — wild animals
  20. game — a match
  21. chest — a box
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. last — final
  24. chip — for betting

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