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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: pitcher · wake · hide · wound · wind · date · roll · saw

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. wound — an injury
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. saw — the tool
  7. wind — moving air
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. wind — moving air
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. saw — the tool
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. wake — a trail
  18. roll — a cake
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. date — the fruit
  23. roll — a list
  24. wind — to turn a key

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