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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 116 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: wake · pitch · tear · kid · plane · wound · can · rash

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. kid — to tease
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. pitch — completely
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. kid — child
  7. tear — to rip
  8. wound — an injury
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. wake — a trail
  11. can — a tin
  12. tear — from crying
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. rash — hasty
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. can — to be able to
  19. wound — an injury
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. rash — a series
  22. can — a tin
  23. plane — a tool
  24. tear — from crying

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