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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: wound · straw · pitch · game · pop · kick · bound · dip

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. pop — music
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. dip — to sink
  5. pitch — completely
  6. game — a match
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. wound — an injury
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. kick — in football
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. bound — tied together
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. bound — certain
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. bound — obliged
  19. pop — to visit
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. pop — soda
  22. game — wild animals
  23. wound — an injury
  24. straw — a straw man

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