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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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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: pitch · content · spring · tube · patient · band · wound · saw

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. spring — the season
  3. tube — the underground
  4. saw — the tool
  5. wound — an injury
  6. content — happy
  7. wound — an injury
  8. spring — of water
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. band — a ring
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. spring — a coil
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. saw — the tool
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. tube — a container
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. band — a music group
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. pitch — completely
  24. content — the amount

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