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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: pound · mate · fork · saw · pitch · vault · wound · row

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. wound — an injury
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. mate — a partner
  5. row — a line
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. vault — a safe
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. mate — a friend
  10. saw — the tool
  11. fork — in a road
  12. pitch — completely
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. row — to paddle
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. pound — a weight
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. wound — an injury
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. saw — the tool

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