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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 116 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 · stand · pitch · hand · band · bear · wound · fan

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. band — a music group
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. kid — to tease
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. pitch — completely
  7. stand — to bear
  8. bear — the animal
  9. hand — in cards
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. wound — an injury
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. bear — the animal
  16. hand — help
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. band — a ring
  24. kid — child

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