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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: tear · tube · mine · ball · pitch · kid · craft · lie

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. tube — the underground
  3. craft — a skill
  4. tear — to rip
  5. tube — a container
  6. kid — child
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. craft — boats
  9. lie — to recline
  10. mine — for digging
  11. ball — a great time
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. kid — to tease
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. tear — from crying
  20. ball — a dance
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. pitch — completely
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. tear — from crying

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