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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: pound · track · cap · chip · wind · cell · pitch · rush

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. track — a path
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. cap — a lid
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. cap — a hat
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. rush — hurry
  12. pound — a weight
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. pitch — completely
  15. track — to keep track
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wind — moving air
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. cell — a phone
  20. track — a song
  21. chip — for betting
  22. chip — to eat
  23. cell — in biology
  24. cap — of ice

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