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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 · pit · wind · mark · safe · last · pitcher · tear

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. wind — moving air
  3. pit — a hole
  4. tear — from crying
  5. last — to go on
  6. mark — a trace
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. pit — in a race
  10. tear — from crying
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. game — a match
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. tear — to rip
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. last — final
  21. last — finally
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. mark — a grade
  24. wind — moving air

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