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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: bear · cue · kid · wound · pitch · last · patient · pitcher

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. last — final
  4. pitch — completely
  5. last — to go on
  6. bear — the animal
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. kid — child
  9. wound — an injury
  10. kid — to tease
  11. cue — a signal
  12. cue — a hint
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. last — finally
  16. cue — for pool
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. bear — the animal
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. pitcher — a jug

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