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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: pitcher · game · chest · deal · swing · pound

  1. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. chest — of your body
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. swing — to play on
  7. game — a match
  8. game — wild animals
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. deal — to handle
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. chest — of your body
  15. pound — a weight
  16. swing — music
  17. chest — a box
  18. swing — in golf

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