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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 · march · snap · stock · land · chip · track · last

  1. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. track — a path
  3. land — a country
  4. last — final
  5. land — to come down
  6. march — music
  7. pitch — completely
  8. snap — to click
  9. land — ground
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. chip — to eat
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. march — the month
  14. track — to keep track
  15. march — the month
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. stock — shares
  19. track — a song
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. stock — goods
  23. last — to go on
  24. last — finally

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