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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: kick · pitch · chip · row · cell · wound · swing · press

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. pitch — completely
  5. chip — to eat
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. press — newspapers
  8. chip — for betting
  9. row — a line
  10. row — to paddle
  11. swing — music
  12. wound — an injury
  13. cell — in biology
  14. kick — in football
  15. wound — an injury
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. swing — in golf
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. press — a publisher
  23. swing — to play on
  24. press — to push

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