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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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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 · row · wind · firm · foot · chip · content · bat

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. foot — a measure
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. row — to paddle
  5. bat — the animal
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. chip — to eat
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. chip — for betting
  10. firm — a company
  11. wind — moving air
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. firm — decided
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. pitch — completely
  20. firm — steady
  21. content — the amount
  22. content — happy
  23. row — a line
  24. wind — moving air

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