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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: band · pitch · bat · tear · deal · mate

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. band — a music group
  3. band — a ring
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. pitch — completely
  6. mate — a partner
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. tear — to rip
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. tear — from crying
  12. mate — to breed
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. bat — the animal
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. deal — to handle
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. tear — from crying

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