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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: wind · pit · pitch · hand · key · bank · shower · temple

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. key — the most important part
  3. pitch — completely
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. hand — in cards
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. shower — to wash
  11. key — in music
  12. hand — help
  13. bank — for money
  14. wind — moving air
  15. pit — a hole
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. bank — of a river
  18. wind — moving air
  19. key — for a lock
  20. pit — in a race
  21. shower — rain
  22. bank — for money
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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