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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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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: wind · race · mug · lean · pitch · bowl · kid · wound

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. race — a contest
  5. lean — to bend
  6. kid — child
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. kid — to tease
  9. wind — moving air
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. race — the arms race
  12. mug — to rob
  13. mug — a face
  14. pitch — completely
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. wound — an injury
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. wound — an injury
  19. lean — thin
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. race — humankind
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. wind — moving air
  24. mug — a cup

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