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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: board · pit · land · pitch · chip · spring · mug · cell

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. board — a committee
  3. board — to get on
  4. cell — in biology
  5. mug — to rob
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. pit — in a race
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. spring — the season
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. chip — to eat
  14. chip — for betting
  15. mug — a cup
  16. pit — a hole
  17. pitch — completely
  18. land — to come down
  19. cell — a phone
  20. land — a country
  21. land — ground
  22. spring — a coil
  23. mug — a face
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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