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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 · chest · drill · wind · deal · club

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. chest — of your body
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. drill — a practice
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. drill — army training
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. deal — to handle
  9. drill — the tool
  10. wind — moving air
  11. chest — of your body
  12. chest — a box
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. club — for golf
  16. club — a group
  17. club — for dancing
  18. deal — a big deal

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