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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: pitch · tear · kid · rock · last · hand · wound · wave

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. hand — in cards
  3. wound — an injury
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. last — finally
  6. tear — from crying
  7. tear — from crying
  8. hand — help
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. tear — to rip
  11. last — final
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. last — to go on
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. pitch — completely
  19. rock — a stone
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. rock — music
  23. kid — child
  24. kid — to tease

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