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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: chip · cold · toast · cell · spring · swing · snap · pitch

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. spring — of water
  4. spring — a coil
  5. cold — not warm
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. toast — bread
  11. swing — music
  12. chip — for betting
  13. pitch — completely
  14. cold — an illness
  15. swing — in golf
  16. chip — to eat
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. snap — to click
  19. cell — a phone
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. spring — the season
  23. cell — in biology
  24. toast — a drink to someone

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