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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: shower · firm · kick · board · pitcher · band · chest · court

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. chest — of your body
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. court — for sport
  7. kick — in football
  8. firm — steady
  9. firm — a company
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. board — a committee
  12. court — of law
  13. shower — to wash
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. chest — a box
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. band — a music group
  18. court — of a king
  19. firm — decided
  20. shower — rain
  21. band — a ring
  22. board — to get on
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. band — a rubber band

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