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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: deal · tube · wound · key · pound · pitch · press · scale

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. press — a publisher
  4. key — the most important part
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. scale — in music
  8. press — newspapers
  9. tube — the underground
  10. pitch — completely
  11. wound — an injury
  12. deal — to handle
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. key — for a lock
  16. pound — a weight
  17. key — in music
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. scale — size or range
  20. press — to push
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. tube — a container
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. wound — an injury

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