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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · game · tube · pop · snap · pitch · stock · wound

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. stock — goods
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. wound — an injury
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. tube — the underground
  9. game — wild animals
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. wound — an injury
  12. snap — to click
  13. pop — music
  14. tube — a container
  15. pop — soda
  16. game — a match
  17. kid — child
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. stock — shares
  20. kid — to tease
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. pitch — completely
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. game — a kind of play

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