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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 · hand · kick · cell · cap · mate · rush · spell

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. spell — a short time
  4. hand — in cards
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. mate — a partner
  7. mate — a friend
  8. kick — in football
  9. spell — magic
  10. rush — hurry
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. cap — of ice
  14. cell — a phone
  15. cell — in biology
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. spell — letters
  20. cap — a hat
  21. cap — a lid
  22. hand — help
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. mate — to breed

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