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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: rock · wind · kid · temple · pitch · spell

  1. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. kid — child
  3. spell — a short time
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. wind — moving air
  6. kid — to tease
  7. rock — music
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. wind — moving air
  10. pitch — completely
  11. spell — magic
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. spell — letters
  17. rock — a stone
  18. 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