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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: board · hand · chip · wind · pitch · spring · mine · wound

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. board — to get on
  4. hand — in cards
  5. spring — a coil
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wound — an injury
  14. wound — an injury
  15. pitch — completely
  16. spring — of water
  17. chip — to eat
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. chip — for betting
  20. spring — the season
  21. wind — moving air
  22. hand — help
  23. mine — for digging
  24. board — a committee

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