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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: spring · swing · kid · wound · spell · shower · dip · pitch

  1. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. spring — a coil
  3. kid — child
  4. spring — the season
  5. wound — an injury
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. kid — to tease
  8. swing — in golf
  9. shower — to wash
  10. spell — letters
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. spring — of water
  14. swing — to play on
  15. spell — magic
  16. spell — a short time
  17. swing — music
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. shower — rain
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. dip — to sink
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  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