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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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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: pitcher · mine · kid · stand · bear · spring

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. bear — the animal
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. kid — child
  8. kid — to tease
  9. stand — to bear
  10. spring — of water
  11. spring — the season
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. mine — for digging
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. bear — the animal
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. spring — a coil

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