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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: land · firm · cabinet · kid · wind · pitch · mine · rash

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. wind — moving air
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. land — a country
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. pitch — completely
  9. mine — for digging
  10. kid — to tease
  11. wind — moving air
  12. kid — child
  13. rash — hasty
  14. rash — a series
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. firm — steady
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. land — ground
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. firm — decided
  24. firm — a company

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