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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 120 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 · tube · hand · cell · temple · wind · snap · net

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. tube — a container
  4. pitch — completely
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. snap — to click
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. hand — help
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. net — in sport
  14. cell — in biology
  15. tube — the underground
  16. net — for catching
  17. wind — moving air
  18. net — after costs
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. wind — moving air
  21. hand — in cards
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. cell — a phone

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