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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: mark · pitch · last · cold · track · squash · bank · hand

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. hand — in cards
  7. cold — an illness
  8. mark — a grade
  9. bank — for money
  10. bank — of a river
  11. squash — to crush
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. bank — for money
  14. last — to go on
  15. cold — not warm
  16. track — a song
  17. last — finally
  18. track — to keep track
  19. last — final
  20. hand — help
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. mark — a trace
  23. squash — the sport
  24. pitch — completely

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