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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: fork · ball · wake · wind · content · pitcher · kid · pitch

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. ball — a great time
  4. content — the amount
  5. kid — child
  6. kid — to tease
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. wake — a trail
  11. pitch — completely
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. ball — a dance
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. fork — in a road
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. content — happy
  24. wind — moving air

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