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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: hand · wound · tear · spring · board · pitch · lash · dip

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. wound — an injury
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. hand — help
  6. wound — an injury
  7. tear — from crying
  8. dip — to sink
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. pitch — completely
  11. board — a committee
  12. board — to get on
  13. hand — in cards
  14. spring — the season
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. tear — to rip
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. spring — of water
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. tear — from crying
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. spring — a coil

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