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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 · snap · wound · bore · mine · coach · tube · tear

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. tear — from crying
  5. tear — from crying
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. bore — to tire
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. tear — to rip
  12. bore — to drill
  13. pitch — completely
  14. tube — a container
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. wound — an injury
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. snap — to click
  19. wound — an injury
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. mine — for digging
  24. pitch — a sports field

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