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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 · kid · current · deal · net · mate · key · wound

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. wound — an injury
  3. key — the most important part
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. key — for a lock
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. kid — child
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. current — electric
  11. deal — to handle
  12. pitch — completely
  13. kid — to tease
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. mate — to breed
  16. mate — a friend
  17. current — happening now
  18. mate — a partner
  19. net — after costs
  20. current — of water
  21. net — in sport
  22. wound — an injury
  23. net — for catching
  24. key — in music

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