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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: pitch · dip · wind · pitcher · land · mine · mate · mark

  1. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. wind — moving air
  3. mate — a partner
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. mark — a grade
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. mate — a friend
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. mine — for digging
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. wind — moving air
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. land — a country
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. dip — to sink
  21. mate — to breed
  22. mark — a trace
  23. land — to come down
  24. land — ground

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