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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: last · land · wave · mine · deal · pitch · chair · chip

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. chip — for betting
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. last — final
  5. chair — a leader
  6. pitch — completely
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. mine — for digging
  10. land — to come down
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. land — a country
  13. chip — to eat
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. deal — to handle
  16. last — to go on
  17. land — ground
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. last — finally
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. pitch — a sports field

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