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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: deal · lie · pitch · stem · bass · spring · wind · kid

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. lie — to recline
  3. spring — the season
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. stem — to come from
  7. kid — child
  8. spring — of water
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. bass — low music
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. bass — the fish
  19. deal — to handle
  20. wind — moving air
  21. pitch — completely
  22. kid — to tease
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. wind — moving air

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