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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: pitch · band · stand · wind · hand · last · wave · calf

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. hand — help
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. stand — to bear
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. last — finally
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. band — a music group
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. pitch — completely
  16. band — a ring
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. hand — in cards
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. last — to go on
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. last — final
  24. wave — of the sea

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