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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: shower · snap · mark · cap · pitch · coach · chip · hand

  1. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. cap — of ice
  6. shower — to wash
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. shower — rain
  12. snap — to click
  13. mark — a trace
  14. hand — help
  15. pitch — completely
  16. chip — to eat
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. chip — for betting
  20. cap — a lid
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. hand — in cards
  24. cap — a hat

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