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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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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: cold · chip · deal · spell · pitch · stem · chest · rush

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. spell — magic
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. chest — a box
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. stem — to come from
  10. rush — hurry
  11. chip — for betting
  12. spell — a short time
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. cold — an illness
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. spell — letters
  18. pitch — completely
  19. chip — to eat
  20. cold — not warm
  21. chest — of your body
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. chest — of your body
  24. deal — to handle

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