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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: stick · cabinet · tear · mine · club · sharp · kid · pitch

  1. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. club — a group
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. club — for golf
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. tear — from crying
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. tear — to rip
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. mine — for digging
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. tear — from crying
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. kid — to tease
  16. club — for dancing
  17. pitch — completely
  18. sharp — clever
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. kid — child
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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