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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: kid · pitcher · bass · sharp · racket · calf · wound · march

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. march — music
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. march — the month
  7. march — the month
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. bass — low music
  13. wound — an injury
  14. kid — to tease
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. sharp — clever
  18. bass — the fish
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. kid — child
  24. pitcher — a jug

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