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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: toast · bowl · land · scale · wound · hand · saw · pitch

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. hand — help
  4. land — ground
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. saw — the tool
  7. land — a country
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. toast — bread
  12. wound — an injury
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. wound — an injury
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. scale — size or range
  19. pitch — completely
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. hand — in cards
  22. scale — in music
  23. land — to come down
  24. saw — the tool

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