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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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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 · club · bank · wind · shower · wound · clip · band

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. bank — for money
  3. band — a ring
  4. shower — to wash
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. clip — a video
  8. shower — rain
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. wound — an injury
  11. wind — moving air
  12. club — a group
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. wind — moving air
  15. clip — for paper
  16. band — a music group
  17. pitch — completely
  18. bank — for money
  19. clip — to cut
  20. club — for dancing
  21. club — for golf
  22. bank — of a river
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. wound — an injury

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