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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: deal · cap · chip · cold · pitch · track · land · plane

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. land — a country
  3. cap — a lid
  4. track — a song
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. deal — to handle
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. cold — not warm
  11. cold — an illness
  12. track — a path
  13. chip — for betting
  14. track — to keep track
  15. cap — a hat
  16. cap — of ice
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. land — ground
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. chip — to eat
  21. plane — a tool
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. pitch — completely
  24. chip — in a computer

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