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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: stand · kid · wound · pitch · temple · bowl · shower · net

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. shower — rain
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. net — for catching
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. kid — to tease
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. net — in sport
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. net — after costs
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. stand — to bear
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. kid — child
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. shower — to wash
  23. wound — an injury
  24. pitch — completely

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