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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: pitch · ball · cabinet · wind · kid · nail · season · pitcher

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. wind — moving air
  6. season — in sport
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. wind — moving air
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. kid — to tease
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. kid — child
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. pitch — completely
  22. ball — a dance
  23. ball — a great time
  24. nail — for a hammer

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