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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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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: bank · chip · pitch · wake · firm · march · cold · bowl

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. bank — of a river
  4. bank — for money
  5. march — music
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. cold — not warm
  9. chip — to eat
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. firm — decided
  12. cold — an illness
  13. firm — steady
  14. bank — for money
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. march — the month
  19. march — the month
  20. firm — a company
  21. wake — a trail
  22. chip — for betting
  23. pitch — completely
  24. pitch — a sports field

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