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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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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: wake · straw · pitch · wind · lash · wound · dip · spring

  1. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. spring — a coil
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. wound — an injury
  9. wind — moving air
  10. spring — the season
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. wound — an injury
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. dip — to sink
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. spring — of water
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. wake — a trail
  24. lash — an eyelash

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