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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: mine · wake · coach · wound · game · pitch · march · kid

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. march — music
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. mine — for digging
  6. game — a match
  7. kid — to tease
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. game — wild animals
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. wound — an injury
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. march — the month
  14. pitch — completely
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. wake — a trail
  18. wound — an injury
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. kid — child
  22. march — the month
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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