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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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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: file · bass · pitch · tear · kid · deal

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. bass — low music
  3. tear — from crying
  4. tear — from crying
  5. bass — the fish
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. deal — to handle
  8. kid — to tease
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. tear — to rip
  11. file — a tool
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. file — a line of people
  14. file — a document
  15. kid — child
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. pitch — completely

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