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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: rest · chip · pitch · wake · fall · pop · mine · row

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. mine — for digging
  3. pitch — completely
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. row — a line
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. chip — for betting
  9. chip — to eat
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. wake — a trail
  13. row — to paddle
  14. pop — to visit
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. rest — what's left
  17. pop — music
  18. rest — a break
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. fall — the season
  21. pop — soda
  22. fall — to drop
  23. rest — what's left
  24. fall — to drop

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