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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: key · lie · date · row · game · pitch · wound · tube

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. wound — an injury
  3. tube — the underground
  4. pitch — completely
  5. game — wild animals
  6. row — a line
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. date — the fruit
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. lie — to recline
  12. row — to paddle
  13. game — a match
  14. wound — an injury
  15. key — in music
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. tube — a container
  19. key — for a lock
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. tube — in a tire

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