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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 120 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: mine · track · staff · chair · fine · pitch · bark · land

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. pitch — completely
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. track — a song
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. staff — a stick
  8. track — a path
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. staff — employees
  11. land — to come down
  12. mine — for digging
  13. land — ground
  14. track — to keep track
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. chair — a leader
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. fine — high quality
  19. land — a country
  20. fine — all right
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. bark — to shout

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