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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: net · ground · chip · pitch · wind · coach · cell · cabinet

  1. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. net — in sport
  3. net — for catching
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. chip — to eat
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. pitch — completely
  11. wind — moving air
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. cell — a phone
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. ground — crushed
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. cell — in biology
  20. wind — moving air
  21. ground — a position
  22. chip — for betting
  23. ground — the earth
  24. net — after costs

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