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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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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: wound · mark · content · wake · racket · pitch · band · mine

  1. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. band — a ring
  4. wound — an injury
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. band — a music group
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. mine — for digging
  14. content — happy
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. pitch — completely
  18. mark — a grade
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. content — the amount
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wake — a trail
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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