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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: cold · cap · pitch · staff · dip · squash · track · band

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. track — a song
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. cap — a hat
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. cold — an illness
  8. band — a ring
  9. dip — to sink
  10. staff — a stick
  11. cold — not warm
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. staff — employees
  14. pitch — completely
  15. staff — employees
  16. track — a path
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. track — to keep track
  20. band — a music group
  21. cap — of ice
  22. squash — the sport
  23. cap — a lid
  24. squash — to crush

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