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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: kid · pitch · lean · spell · kick · bowl · game · stem

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. spell — letters
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. spell — a short time
  10. game — wild animals
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. stem — to come from
  13. kick — in football
  14. lean — to bend
  15. game — a match
  16. lean — thin
  17. spell — magic
  18. pitch — completely
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. kid — child
  21. kid — to tease
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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