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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: key · kid · face · pitcher · wound · last · pop · stand

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. kid — child
  3. last — finally
  4. face — part of the head
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. wound — an injury
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. pop — soda
  10. key — in music
  11. key — for a lock
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. key — the most important part
  14. pop — music
  15. kid — to tease
  16. last — to go on
  17. pop — to visit
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. stand — to bear
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. face — to confront
  23. wound — an injury
  24. face — to point toward

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