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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
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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: chest · fall · wound · hand · bound · kick · pitcher · mate

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. wound — an injury
  3. kick — in football
  4. fall — to drop
  5. fall — to drop
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. bound — certain
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. chest — of your body
  10. mate — a friend
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. bound — obliged
  13. hand — help
  14. chest — of your body
  15. hand — in cards
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. fall — the season
  18. wound — an injury
  19. chest — a box
  20. mate — to breed
  21. bound — tied together
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. mate — a partner

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