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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: pitch · bowl · wind · patient · mate · kid

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. wind — moving air
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. mate — a partner
  9. mate — to breed
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. pitch — completely
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. kid — to tease
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. mate — a friend
  17. wind — moving air
  18. kid — child

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