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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: bear · hand · spring · board · pitcher · bowl · wound · last

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. spring — a coil
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. last — to go on
  6. hand — help
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. board — a committee
  9. spring — the season
  10. spring — of water
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. board — to get on
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. bear — the animal
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. last — final
  19. wound — an injury
  20. bear — the animal
  21. wound — an injury
  22. last — finally
  23. hand — in cards
  24. pitcher — a jug

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