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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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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: pitch · last · mark · mine · toast · bound · cold · wound

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. last — finally
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. mark — a grade
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. mark — a trace
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. cold — not warm
  10. bound — certain
  11. last — to go on
  12. bound — tied together
  13. wound — an injury
  14. toast — bread
  15. bound — obliged
  16. last — final
  17. cold — an illness
  18. wound — an injury
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. mine — for digging
  23. pitch — completely
  24. mine — belonging to me

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