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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · bear · ball · wound · rock · bat · race · cold

  1. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. race — a contest
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. ball — a dance
  5. bear — the animal
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. bear — the animal
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. rock — a stone
  10. ball — a great time
  11. cold — not warm
  12. wound — an injury
  13. cold — an illness
  14. rock — music
  15. race — humankind
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. race — the arms race
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. wound — an injury
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. bat — the animal
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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