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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: pitch · wound · field · bound · chip · wax · bear · hand

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. wax — to grow
  4. field — a subject
  5. pitch — completely
  6. bound — obliged
  7. bear — the animal
  8. bear — the animal
  9. wound — an injury
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. chip — to eat
  12. chip — for betting
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. field — farmland
  15. hand — in cards
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. bound — certain
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. bound — tied together
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. field — for sport
  24. hand — help

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