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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: kid · pound · pitch · tear · net · dip · pitcher · drill

  1. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. kid — to tease
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. tear — from crying
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. drill — a practice
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. kid — child
  11. dip — to sink
  12. pound — a weight
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. pitch — completely
  15. net — in sport
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. net — for catching
  18. net — after costs
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. tear — from crying
  22. drill — army training
  23. drill — the tool
  24. tear — to rip

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