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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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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 · wound · hand · race · bowl · season · sharp · content

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. hand — help
  5. season — of the year
  6. race — the arms race
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. race — humankind
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. content — the amount
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. wound — an injury
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. season — in sport
  15. race — a contest
  16. content — happy
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. sharp — clever
  23. pitcher — a jug
  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