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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 · mug · ground · foot · bound · row · spring · wound

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. bound — certain
  4. mug — a cup
  5. pitch — completely
  6. foot — a measure
  7. ground — the earth
  8. bound — obliged
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. row — a line
  11. wound — an injury
  12. mug — a face
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. spring — the season
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. spring — a coil
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. spring — of water
  19. row — to paddle
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. wound — an injury
  22. bound — tied together
  23. mug — to rob
  24. ground — a position

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