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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. row — to paddle
  4. mug — to rob
  5. wound — an injury
  6. mug — a face
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. wound — an injury
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. kid — to tease
  11. mug — a cup
  12. wind — moving air
  13. mark — a trace
  14. kid — child
  15. hand — in cards
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. hand — help
  18. pitch — completely
  19. wind — moving air
  20. row — a line
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. mark — a grade
  24. wind — to turn a key

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