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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: game · lean · pitch · rash · present · spring · wound · track

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. present — there
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. pitch — completely
  7. present — the time now
  8. track — to keep track
  9. lean — thin
  10. game — a match
  11. rash — a series
  12. track — a song
  13. track — a path
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. rash — hasty
  16. spring — a coil
  17. game — wild animals
  18. lean — to bend
  19. wound — an injury
  20. spring — of water
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. spring — the season
  23. wound — an injury
  24. game — a kind of play

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