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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: trunk · bat · pitch · pound · chip · wind · mate · cue

  1. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — for pool
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. bat — the animal
  5. cue — a signal
  6. pound — a weight
  7. chip — for betting
  8. wind — moving air
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. mate — a partner
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. wind — moving air
  15. cue — a hint
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. mate — a friend
  18. pitch — completely
  19. mate — to breed
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. chip — to eat
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. bat — in an idiom

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