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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.

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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: pitch · spring · bound · pound · kick · bat · tear · pop

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. spring — the season
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. pop — to visit
  7. pitch — completely
  8. kick — in football
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. tear — from crying
  11. bound — certain
  12. pop — music
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. pop — soda
  16. tear — from crying
  17. spring — of water
  18. bound — tied together
  19. spring — a coil
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. bound — obliged
  22. pound — a weight
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. tear — to rip

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